Just like a fairy tale, NOT
by MrsRegulusBlack123
Summary: As a child, Tsuki had always wished to marry a prince and ride off into the sunset on a white horse. Now, years later, she's indeed found herself married to a prince, the only problem is that he's a sadistic, bloodthirsty Mafia assassin. Bel/OC
1. A slightly unusual wakeup

Tsukiko had always considered herself to be a down-to-earth person, the typical young adult, eager to prove herself and make the best out of her life. How she ended up in that situation, she still did not know.

* * *

><p>The first thing that Tsuki realized upon waking up, was that she felt like shit. Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry, her back hurt and there was something tickling her nose.<p>

'Ugh…' She groaned, turning over and reaching out to rub her forehead, what the hell had she done last night? She couldn't remember, the damn headache acted up whenever she tried to recall anything that had happened yesterday… Damn, she'd better go get an aspirin, her boss would absolutely murder her if she was late for work again…

'Okay, up I get…' She murmured pushing herself up, making the weight on her chest go away, Coco, she thought tiredly as she rubbed her eyes, and then her forehead, not wanting to open her eyes quite yet. Damn, aspirin was not gonna do it this time, she decided grudgingly, she'd need something stronger-

Wait a sec… Coco…? Hadn't her cat died last year? But then, what had been lying on her chest? A stray, maybe? But how the heck had it gotten inside? Tsuki always locked the doors and she sure as hell did not leave her window open in mid-November, not to mention, her apartment was on the third floor anyway… there was no way for a stray to get in…

It was true that she _did_ occasionally take animals home if she found them during a rainstorm or something… but as far as she could remember, other than the bitter cold, last night's weather had been good.

Okay, she better get the animal out though, her landlord would freak if she brought home any more stray animals… yeah, she'd maybe give it some milk and-

'What the hell…?' Upon opening her eyes, Tsuki had to do a double-take, because the huge luxurious room in front of her, sure as hell was not hers.

Turning to the animal she'd unconsciously been petting, she realized that it indeed was not her deceased cat, Coco, but some sort of a white feline, a mink perhaps? But who kept a mink as a pet?

At that, Tsuki froze. Yes, _who_? Because this sure as hell wasn't her room and bed, which meant it was someone else's. And she was lying in it, petting his pet… it was only then that she took notice of the person lying on the other half of the bed, wearing some kind of a uniform, his long golden hair messy and sticking out in various angles, a silver… tiara… lying next to him, as if it had slid off while he was asleep. Letting her eyes wander over him for a bit longer, Tsuki's first thought was that he was freaking damn _hot_.

That was when the fact that she had no idea who the heck he was started to sink in. He could be an escaped mental patient for all she knew. Gulping, Tsuki quickly decided it'd be best to get the hell away from him before the blonde Adonis woke up. If she'd been a teenager, Tsuki might've squealed at the sight of him, hell, she might've done it now even, if it wasn't for her having to be quiet in order to get away.

_Okay, enough of this_. She firmly told herself as she swung her legs off the bed, finding herself confused when she realized she couldn't move her legs about with the usual ease.

Looking down, Tsuki's eyebrows furrowed. A dress? What happened to her jeans, pullover and sneakers? Well, at least, the blonde girl mused to herself as she set her feet on the ground, she was wearing something, which meant the hot blonde and her hadn't done it.

Okay, yes, that was a good thing. She wouldn't want her virginity to be taken by a total stranger, no matter how drop-dead gorgeous he was. She wasn't that kind of a girl.

Looking around for her shoes, she found none, but that wasn't such a big surprise seeing as now that she could actually get a good look at the room, she could also see that it was filthy. Filled with clothes, papers, an empty pizza box, a cell phone, some weirdly shaped knives (Tsuki quickened her pace then) and all kind of other stuff scattered all around.

She needed to get the hell away from him and wherever it was he lived. With or without her shoes. She'd flee and go to the nearest underground station, then go home and pretend this never happened.

Yes. That sounded like a very good idea.

Carefully making her way over to the door, Tsuki opened it, making as little noise as possible. Getting outside she was faced with another problem though. She was standing in the middle of a big hallway, so which way to go, left or right?

Letting her gut decide, the girl picked right. It wasn't long before she regretted it.

'VOOOIIIIIII! Damn you Xanxus!' Tsuki let out a gasp, jumping ten feet in the air as a door on her left was slammed open, revealing a very angry-looking silver-haired guy. The girl gulped, her face paling a little. Was that a _sword_ strapped to his wrist? Settling his eyes on her, the man glared, making Tsuki back off. 'Who the hell are you?' He snapped.

'I-I-' She started stuttering, trying to come up with something to say, but her fear was becoming somewhat of an obstacle, her mind was rapidly going blank.

'Hn? You're not Varia, scum!'

'V-Va-what?' Tsuki stuttered, her eyes widening as she let out a gasp at his sword being pointed straight at her heart. 'I-I-'

'Shut up, woman! Which family are you with?'

'Family? I-I don't-'

'VOOOIIII! Don't try to lie, scum! I'll cut you up!' She should've stayed in bed with the hot guy after all…

'B-but- kyaaah!' Ducking, Tsuki barely managed to avoid the blade being swung at her, picking the tips of her dress up (for it was impossible to run with such a long dress), the brunette ran in a random direction screaming bloody murder, which, quite frankly, if the psycho behind her caught up with her, it might actually end up like.

Turning around a corner, she all but trampled over another weirdo, this one wearing a hideous _frog hat_. What the heck was this place?

'VOOOIIIIII! GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH!' The psycho shouted out, and Tsuki was pretty sure people five miles away from the house heard him quite clearly. That man had one pair of loud lungs.

'Idiot commander… could you not shout that much?' A monotone voice drawled out as Tsuki ran into what looked like a living room, followed by the psycho and the weirdo. 'My ears hurt…'

'VOOOIIII! Fran! Shut up and help me catch that damn woman!'

'No way. I don't feel like running, it's too early…'

'VOOOOOOIIIIIIIII!'

'Mou~ what's going on here, guys? You're being quite lively this morning…' A guy with a Mohawk asked as he entered the room as well, he was wearing a pink "kiss the cook" apron and held a spatula. Tsuki just ran past him hoping he'd get the situation and restrain the psycho with the sword.

He didn't, of course, and the stranger continued chasing her.

'The idiot commander felt like chasing a crazy woman wearing a wedding dress around the castle, it would seem.' At that, Tsuki suddenly stopped so abruptly that she caused the psycho behind her to run into her, sending them both toppling on the ground.

Looking down at her legs and arms, Tsuki came to horrible realization.

'Holy shit! This really _is _a wedding dress!' She all but screamed out, jumping back and hitting her back against a coffee table. How the hell had she not noticed?

'VOOOIIII! That's enough yapping, scum! I want an answer! Who are you and why the hell are you in the Varia headquarters?'

'I-I- I just- I don't-' Tsuki couldn't find the right words, she didn't even know the answer to begin with. But that "commander" guy looked like he'd really kill her if he didn't get an answer.

'Hey, bride woman…' The frog-hat guy spoke up, much to Tsuki's relief, that'd give her another moment or two to come up with an excuse. He stepped forward, holding some kind of a paper in his hands. 'You wouldn't happen to be called Aohana Tsukiko by any chance, would you?'

'I-I-' Deciding to give up on trying to talk, Tsuki nodded. How did he know her name though…? It would seem that the other two had similar thoughts, for the next moment, the silver-haired guy shouted out,

'Voi! Fran, you know her?' The guy, Fran, simply ignored him though, walking over to Tsuki instead and holding out the paper for her to take.

'Then this belongs to you. My condolences.' He sounded almost sincere, if it wasn't for the deadpan expression, that is. Hold on a second… did he say…?

'Condolences?' Tsuki repeated. 'W-what for?' He nodded at the paper and, reluctantly, Tsuki lowered her gaze to take a look at it. Her eyes widened comically, her mouth dropping open in complete shock.

'Voi! What is it, woman?' Squalo, not being one for patience, asked, glaring at the poor girl in front of him.

'I-I- I'm married…?' She whispered finally, her eyes filled with utter shock and disbelief. 'But… I don't even know the guy… who the hell is "Prince Belphegor"?'

Lussuria and Squalo (Fran had already known since he'd been the one to find the marriage certificate) exchanged looks, completely silent for a few moments before both of them burst out.

'VOOOOIIIIIIII! BEL, YOU BASTARD! GET YOUR STUPID ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU SCUM!' Squalo.

'Ooooh~ this is wonderful! Congratulations dear! Oh my, I can already hear the pitter patter of small Bels and Tsukikos…! I need to congratulate Bel-chan!' Lussuria.

'I suggest you get a divorce and then kill Bel-senpai in his sleep, bride woman.' Fran.

Tsukiko felt like she should've known drinking her sorrows away would only lead to bigger sorrows… and there she was now, married to some self-proclaimed prince working for the Italian mafia as an assassin. One thing was sure, this would be the last time she ever came anywhere relatively close to any kind of alcohol ever again.


	2. Life with the Varia

'_VOOOOOIIIIIIII! BEL! GET DOWN HERE OR I'M COMING UP, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!'_

_Tsuki cringed as the loud voice rang through the room, multiplying her already horrid headache tenfold. It had been bad enough without a mad swordsman screaming at the top of his lungs, with his hollering added to the equation, Tsuki felt like jumping off a cliff just to shut it out._

'_Mou~ Squ-chan… keep it down a little, would you? The boss is still sleeping…' Lussuria said, bringing a gloved hand up to his cheek and sighing. 'You know how he gets when his morning starts badly…'_

'_VOOOIIII! I could care less about our shitty boss, Lussuria! BEL, YOU BASTARD, TODAY!'_

'_Here's your aspirin, bride woman.' The apathetic voice made Tsuki turn to her left, where the teal-haired guy stood, holding out a glass and a little white pill for her to take._

_Smiling appreciatively, Tsuki took it, thanking Fran before gulping the medicine down._

'_VOOOOOOO-'_

'_Shut it, peasant.' A rather tired and disgruntled-sounding voice came from the hall, followed, only seconds later, by a silver glint coming from the same direction. There was a dull thud somewhere behind Tsuki which made her raise an eyebrow. What-_

'_A-a knife…?' She choked out, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief, frozen on the little silver weird-shaped knife stuck in the wall. He'd thrown it from all the way over the hall? Tsuki gulped._

'_VOOOIII! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, SCUM?' The silver-haired swordsman shouted, quite rightfully pissed. If that knife had been just an inch closer to him, he'd have been hit._

'_The prince told you to shut it, peasant.' The same person snapped as he entered the living room, immediately causing Tsuki to blush as she recognized the guy who she'd been lying next to when she woke up._

_His hair was messy from just having woken up, a really expensive-looking tiara perched on top of his head. His shirt was slightly shriveled up too, giving the other room's occupants a good view of his rather nicely-toned abs. Tsuki felt all of the blood rush to her face, leaving her, without doubt, about as red as Rudolph's nose._

'_Mou, Bel-chan, would you perhaps want an aspirin as well?' Lussuria asked, sounding genuinely worried about the tiara-wearing blonde. Turning to the flamboyant man, Tsuki could almost _feel_ the blonde's glare, and it wasn't even directed at her._

'_Oi, Lussuria. Hasn't the prince made it clear that not you nor any peasants are allowed to enter the prince's room without his permission?' As if to prove something, he held up a pair of white high heel stiletto shoes. Ah, those were-_

'_Oh~ But those aren't mine, Bel-chan~' The flamboyant man giggled girlishly._

'_Eh?'_

'_Yes, fake prince, I'd say those belong to your wife.' Fran spoke up, turning the blonde's attention to him for the first time._

'_Wife?' The blonde repeated incredulously, his eyes only then spotting the girl standing next to his teal-haired kohai. Staring at her for a few more moments, the self-proclaimed prince pulled half a dozen of knives out, turning back to the frog-hat wearing guy. 'Shishi. What's the meaning of this, frog?'_

'_How would I know, idiot senpai, you're the one that married Tsuki-san.'_

'_Ushishi. The prince would never marry such a common peasant as _her_.' The blonde responded haughtily, sniggering at the teal-haired guy._

_Tsuki scowled, her eyes narrowed at the self-proclaimed prince's comment. So blunt and downright rude. He had no right to say that about her, especially since he didn't even know her. The brunette had been about to give the "prince" a piece of her mind, when Fran interrupted her, waving around a very familiar paper for the blonde to see._

'_Really? Because this marriage certificate states otherwise, fake-prince.'_

* * *

><p>Tsuki sighed as she lay on her bed, her eyes closed. It was hard to believe that since that day already almost two weeks had passed, time really <em>did<em> fly by. She could still clearly remember Squalo announcing her (with a sword pointed at her neck) that since she knew the location of their hideout, they could not let her leave, unless it was in a body bag, that is.

It was Tuesday today, and the young brunette had been waiting for this particular day for some time now. She didn't want to get up quite yet, she was warm and comfortable, after all. It wasn't every day that you got to sleep out at the Varia headquarters, something would always occur, may that be Squalo "VOOOOIIIIIII"ing or Xanxus getting pissed and randomly shooting holes in walls, occasionally followed by a wine glass to his second in command's head.

Yes, the Varia were quite a lively bunch, the only problem was that the "lively" was more often than not walking hand in hand with "deadly" when it came to the Vongola's independent assassination squad.

Living with them, could be quite the health hazard, Tsuki could attest for that one personally.

Sighing, Tsuki decided that she'd better get up now, after all, even if most of the Varia's crazy members were gone, that didn't mean there weren't things for her to do around the castle. She had to prepare breakfast, for one. With Lussuria gone, there was no one but her that knew how to do as much as boil some water, it was kind of sad really, the other day, Fran managed to somehow burn down half the kitchen while trying to fry an egg.

The brunette quickly took some clothes out of her closet and pulled them on, pulling her hair up into a lopsided ponytail, briefly inspecting her reflection in the mirror before leaving her room. She thanked the gods that the assassins had been considerable enough to actually give her one of her own.

She wasn't usually picky, but Tsuki didn't think her nerves would've been able to take it if she were to have to share a room with one of the eccentric core members of Varia.

'Oh, Mammon, good morning.' Tsuki said as she entered the kitchen and saw the infant already there, sitting on a stack of encyclopedias, a glass of strawberry milk set next to her.

The cloaked baby looked up, giving Tsuki a quick nod before returning back to the papers scattered in front of her, furiously scribbling away, only occasionally stopping to punch some numbers in the calculator, then immediately returning to scribbling all over her papers again.

'What are you doing?' The brunette curiously asked, moving over to Mammon and peering over the infant's shoulder at all the papers she was working on. Tsuki chuckled, bills, she should've expected it. Mammon was, after all, without doubt, the greediest baby she'd ever met, tried to make Tsuki pay her for getting her off the roof after she passed out that night the moment she met her.

Just what the heck she'd been doing on the _roof_, of all places, the brunette still wasn't completely sure. And, quite truthfully, she'd rather it stayed that way. Some things were better left forgotten.

'Right then,' Tsuki smiled, reaching out for the apron and pulling it on, tying the two strings behind her back. 'Lets make some breakfast, shall we?'

Spending some time looking around the kitchen for anything she could use, Tsuki settled on making pancakes. For being assassins, the Varia members sure were satisfied easily when it came to food (not counting Xanxus, of course). They acted rather like little children, Tsuki thought, loudly and stubbornly demanding the brunette make them pancakes every morning. The only difference from children was that knives, swords, tentacles and gunshots many times came into the play… but they really _were_ like a bunch of overgrown children, especially _that _guy.

Tsuki quickly shook her head, no need to ruin her mood this early on.

'There you go, Mammon.' Tsuki smiled, placing two plates on the table, taking care to set none of them on the bills Mammon was looking at, she'd rather not come face to face with any illusions again anytime soon.

Taking her knife and fork, the little infant started alternating between eating her pancakes, drinking her strawberry milk and checking the bills. Just as Tsuki was about to take a bite of her heavenly-smelling breakfast, someone arrogantly stepped inside the kitchen, causing her mood to immediately sour upon seeing his face.

'Ushishi. Are the peasants up already?'

'Belphegor…' Tsuki muttered, her appetite gone already. The blonde assassin just sniggered, enjoying the effect he was having on the girl, or peasant, as he seemed to continually refer to everyone around him.

The morning she'd woken up and found out she'd drunkenly agreed to get married to a mafia assassin, Tsuki also came to another horrible realization. Said mafia assassin was an insufferable, arrogant jerk.

'Weren't you supposed to be out on a mission or something today?' Tsuki asked, stabbing a piece of the pancake she'd just cut and shoving it in her mouth, not exactly trying to hide her dislike towards the blonde.

'Shishishi. The shark commander decided to take the lightning pervert instead of the prince.' He said plopping down on a chair and putting his legs on the table, making Mammon click her tongue.

'Get your feet off those bills, Bel, I've just arranged them.'

'Ushishi. Nope, the prince doesn't feel like it.' Bel sniggered, making both the infant and Tsuki sigh. He could be such a child, but the difference was, that while a child might get away with it out of childish cuteness, with Belphegor, it just came across as completely uncivilized and rude. 'Hey peasant, make the prince some breakfast.' There he went again. Had it not been for the fact that Tsuki feared the consequences of letting any of the Varia members do as much as boil an egg unsupervised, she'd have told the blonde to do it himself. But she'd rather not have to explain to Xanxus why their kitchen had gotten burnt down again… that is, if she was even still alive. Knowing Mammon, the baby would murder her if she were to cause a damage that big, imagine the repair fees…!

'Fine.' Tsuki growled, causing the blonde assassin to snigger. One day, she swore to herself, one day she'd wipe that stupid and downright creepy grin off his face. 'Chocolate, right?' Tsuki sighed, already having memorized all of the Varia's preferences. Letting out that creepy snigger again, Belphegor nodded.

'Of course.' Rolling her sleeves up, Tsuki got started. Really, it was just like him to show up just after she was done making Mammon and herself pancakes. By the time she got to eat her share, they'd surely be cold.

No matter how drop dead gorgeous he was, because it was futile to deny it, Belphegor could well be a supermodel if he'd wanted to, his arrogance and ridiculously big ego just ruined it. And to think that jerk had actually made her blush when she'd first seen him.

Tsuki scoffed at the memory, pushing it out of her mind and proceeding to flip the pancake she was busy preparing.

'Here.' She said, putting the plate down in front of the self-proclaimed prince with a bit more force than it was actually required. Bel sniggered, taking his feet off the table and moving his chair closer to the table so that he could actually eat.

Turning back to her own pancakes, Tsuki felt her eyebrow twitch. The bastard.

'You ate my pancakes?' She asked in disbelief and exasperation, turning to the blond prince, who just grinned his Cheshire grin at Tsuki.

'You were taking too long, peasant.' Bel said simply, his hidden eyes on the brunette, waiting for her reaction. Aggravating her was just so much fun.

'Too long? That took ten minutes at most…! And its your own pancakes I was baking in the first place!' Bel just sniggered, obviously amused at the brown-haired girl's annoyance.

'Shishishi. Then, how about you share with the prince?' At Tsuki's incredulous expression, she really hadn't expected _that_, Bel's grin grew even more. 'It'd be an honor after all, eating off the same plate as a prince.'

Tsuki scrunched up her nose, huffing as she sat down.

'No thanks, I'd rather starve.'

'Have it your way then, peasant.' Shrugging, the "prince" took a bite off his pancake.

After breakfast, Tsuki and Belphegor moved to the living room to watch some TV while Mammon stayed behind, too engrossed in counting bills and taxes to even notice their absence.

'Shishishi. This show is rubbish, change it, peasant.' Turning to Belphegor, who was hogging up most of the sofa's space, leaving Tsuki only a small square to seat herself, she frowned.

'I happen to rather like this show.' She announced firmly, not about to let the blonde ruin her 25 minutes of anime-watching, the particular series was, after all, just aired once a week. And she'd already missed last week's episode.

'Well it's rubbish, the prince wants to watch something else.' Tsuki let out a sigh, pulling the pillow she was hugging closer to her chest.

'Just bear with it, we're already over the half.' Belphegor didn't like being disobeyed very much though and was half-considering turning the annoying peasant into a cactus, that was when a much more entertaining option occurred to him though. Grinning widely, Bel leaned back. Tsuki raised an eyebrow at that, she honestly hadn't expected him to give in that easily, but since he was quiet and let her watch her show, the brunette shrugged it off, turning back to the TV, on which the main character was in a huge pinch.

'Shishishi.' Feeling an arm snake around her shoulders, Tsuki froze, that snigger left her no doubt as to who the arm belonged to.

'B-Belphegor…?' She asked hesitantly, turning to the grinning blonde. 'What are you-' Before she could even end her sentence though, the blonde assassin pinned her down on the sofa with one swift movement, causing Tsuki to turn completely red as she stared up at his grinning face above her. If anyone were to come in right now, they'd surely misunderstand the situation. Speaking of which… what the hell was Belphegor doing anyway?

'Ushishi.' Leaning down, Tsuki could feel the blonde's breath on her neck, smelling like the chocolate pancakes he'd had earlier. The grin never left his face, it only grew bigger and bigger the more flustered Tsuki became.

She didn't like this, not one bit. The way he was making her feel, she didn't want it, but she couldn't stop her heart from beating faster as his lips brushed against hers ever so softly.

Tsuki was suddenly overcome by a mad desire to grab the blonde Adonis in front of her and kiss him passionately, wrap her arms around him, run her fingers through that golden hair. But before she could do any of that, he pulled away, smirking arrogantly as he held up the remote control.

'Thanks.' He grinned, changing the channel, leaving Tsuki to stare at him, heart beating at fifty miles per second, her face red as a tomato.

She couldn't believe she'd actually fallen for that… it wasn't like it wasn't to be expected of people like Belphegor, she knew that, and yet she stepped right into it.

Taking a shaky breath, Tsuki pulled herself up, managing to maintain whatever little of her dignity remained and walk out of the room without looking back at Belphegor, who was undoubtedly watching her, grinning like the sadistic madman he was.

Getting outside and closing the door behind her, Tsuki sighed. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, for the umpteenth time in these last two weeks wondering how the hell she ever agreed to marry that guy.


	3. A trip to the supermarket

This was a disaster. A complete and utter disaster.

Tsuki groaned as she sat curled up in one of the armchairs located in the living room, the TV in front of her playing some program the young brunette could not care less about. She had, after all, more important matters to worry about.

Just like the one she was facing right now, for instance.

With everything going on, it had completely slipped her mind, but this morning, Tsuki was encountered by a rather unpleasant surprise, namely, the start of her period.

Not having been prepared for it, the girl had just used toilet paper as a temporary substitute, but she knew that she couldn't maintain that for long, she'd need to get _supplies_, and for that to happen, she'd need to get someone to help her.

So, the real question was, who to ask?

Xanxus was out of the question, Tsuki valued her life, thank you very much. The same went for Squalo.

She _would_ ask Fran, if it wasn't for the teal-haired illusionist having chosen this exact morning to take off and train with his "pineapple shishou", whoever that was.

Tsuki doubted Mammon would be of much help, and she wouldn't ask Levi even if her life was dependent on it.

Which left just two more options, one, Lussuria, and two, Belphegor.

No matter how she looked at it, both would be a bad idea.

On the one hand, Tsuki would rather die than swallow her pride and go ask that jerk for a favor, not to mention such an embarrassing one. And even if he _did_ end up helping her (which was just as likely as Xanxus declaring his undying love for Levi dressed in a pink tutu), Tsuki was sure she'd never hear the end of it afterward. He'd pester her for weeks, months maybe, knowing Belphegor.

On the other hand, it would be downright creepy and awkward (on Tsuki's part, at least) if she were to ask the flamboyant boxer for assistance, she wasn't in any particular hurry to end up mentally scarred for life, after all.

God, Tsuki hated being the only female around the castle.

If it wasn't for Squalo, she would've just gone get some pads and tampons on her own (never mind the fact that she had no idea where the closest supermarket was), but, as things were, she might end up dead if she as much as set a foot outside the castle grounds.

Which really left her with no choice other than asking one of the assassins she was forced to live with. And, if she had to choose between the lunatic she had accidentally married and a gay boxer, the gay boxer it was.

Just the thought of it, made Tsuki shudder.

'Er... Lussuria...?' The brunette hesitantly asked as she entered the kitchen, where the flamboyant man known as the Varia's sun guardian was cooking breakfast.

The boxer turned around, revealing the pink flowery apron he was wearing, and smiled at Tsuki brightly.

'Oh, Tsuki-chan...!' He squealed, waving his spatula at the brunette. 'How nice of you to drop by and see me...! I was just getting lonely too, you're such a lovely girl, dear. Bel's so lucky to have you...!' Not sure of exactly what she should say, Tsuki simply chuckled in an awkward manner, rubbing the back of her head. She was pretty sure the demon called Bel wouldn't agree on that particular statement.

'Um, right, look, Lussuria-'

'Tut tut tut...!' The flamboyant man interrupted her, shaking his index finger in front of Tsuki. 'What did I tell you to call me?'

'Er, right, Luss... nee-san...' The girl paused, hesitating to call the older man that, it just sounded wrong. But right now, she just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. 'I kind of need your help with something...'

'Oh?' The eccentric assassin turned to look at her questioningly. 'Of course, dear, anything.'

'Yes, well, I was wondering... I was wondering whether it'd be possible for me to leave the headquarters, just for an hour or so' she quickly added 'There's some things I'd like to buy, it's rather important...'

'Oh...' The man said, giving Tsuki a sympathetic look. 'I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan, but Squ-chan clearly ordered not to let you leave the castle grounds...'

'Yes, yes, I know that but... the thing is...' Tsuki avoided the man's gaze, suddenly taking great interest in an empty plate set on the table. She'd been hoping to be able to leave the HQ without having to explain to anyone. '… well... this morning, I kinda...' The rest was inaudible to anyone who wasn't standing within an inch of the brown-haired girl.

Lussuria, who was indeed standing further than an inch away from Tsuki, raised an eyebrow.

'I'm sorry dear? I'm afraid I didn't get that.'

Taking a deep breath, Tsuki proceeded to repeat herself.

'I said that... it's _that_ time of the month and I need to go buy... you know.' The assassin's eyes widened in realization as he stared at a beet-red Tsuki, shuffling her feet and looking at anything but the man in front of her.

'Oh, _oh_...! I get it now!' Lussuria exclaimed. 'Don't you worry, Tsuki-chan, I'll make sure to do something about Squ-chan! I promise to talk to him!'

With that, thrusting the spatula into the brunette's hands, the man took off.

* * *

><p>Tsuki felt her eyebrow twitching as she saw the person waiting for her at the garage entrance, grinning at her like the psychopath she knew he was.<p>

The self-proclaimed prince sniggered as he watched the brown-haired girl walk over to him, clutching her handbag rather tightly as her face showed her annoyance at him of all people being there.

The whole point behind going to Lussuria in the first place, was to not have to get _him_ involved. If she'd known she'd end up with the blonde jerk either way, she might as well have gone to Bel from the beginning, get the humiliation over with.

'Ushishi. Took you long enough, peasant.' Belphegor sniggered as soon as Tsuki came to a stop. She would've retorted, only that he'd turned around and was already walking towards the garage entrance by the time she opened her mouth.

Deciding to let it slide, the chances of her actually saying something the blonde assassin wouldn't manage to somehow twist against her were really low anyway, Tsuki opted to simply follow Bel in silence.

The blonde prince reached inside his pockets, pulling out some keys and twirling them around his fingers as he went further and further down the garage. Meanwhile, Tsuki was having a hard time keeping herself from gaping at all the ridiculously expensive-looking cars parked inside the underground room, it was her first time in that part of the castle, after all.

'The prince's car is a bit further down.' Belphegor's voice snapped her back to reality, and, though she couldn't tell for sure (with all that hair covering his eyes and all), Tsuki had a feeling the blonde was watching her out of the corner of his eye. 'Try to keep up, will you peasant? Ushishi.'

After almost a whole month of being called a peasant, Tsuki barely even registered it anymore, it seemed like he called everyone like that anyway, not that that made being called a peasant any less insulting, mind you, just easier to ignore.

Once inside Belphegor's car, yet another mindblowingly expensive-looking vehicle, Tsuki wore her seat belt, turning to glance at the blonde that was supposed to be driving. Would he even be able to do that with those ridiculously long bangs covering half of his face? Sure, he managed to somehow find his way around the castle without bumping into walls and pieces of furniture, but driving... that was a whole different matter...

Before she got to voice her doubts, the blonde was already backing out of the driveway, and Tsuki could not quite decide whether the unusually wide grin on his lips was a good or a bad sign. Obviously, it meant that he had confidence in his own driving abilities, but that didn't have to mean the brunette sitting next to him had to be of the same opinion.

The first couple of seconds were sort of alright, and Tsuki had even started to calm down a bit, unclenching her fists and relaxing into the comfortable leather car seat, when the maniac next to her decided to slam his foot onto the gas pedal. Hard.

The car shot forward as Tsuki let out a surprised cry, hooking herself onto her seat again and shutting her eyes tightly, cursing Lussuria for deciding the best person to accompany her to the supermarket would be Bel. If she died in some horrible car accident courtesy to Prince The Ripper, Tsuki would personally find a way to come back and haunt the flamboyant man.

The brunette did not dare try to crack her eyes open, only the feeling of pressure against her as Bel sped down the highway had her terrified, people were honking at them and... oh gosh... was that a police siren?

'Ushishi shishishi shishishi!'

And the lunatic was sniggering...! Sniggering! They were going to get arrested or _killed _and the psycho was sniggering as if he was having the time of his life!

Finally, twenty five minutes (and a now auto-phobic Tsuki) later, the duo finally reached the supermarket. The brown-haired girl lost no time unbuckling herself before all but jumping out of the car, head still slightly spinning from her previous near death experience. There was only one thing she was absolutely sure of;

'I'm taking the bus back.' Tsuki declared, making Belphegor snigger as he followed her inside the shop, hands folded behind his head, the big grin never leaving his lips.

'Was the prince's genius driving too much for the peasant to take?' He asked, laughing that creepy laugh of his.

'Genius driving my ass.' Tsuki muttered darkly under her breath, taking a basket and pulling out the list Lussuria had given her before raising her voice a few octaves so that the self-proclaimed prince would be able to hear her. 'Your manic driving would be too much for any normal person to take.'

'Ushishi. Of course, since they're peasants, and the prince is a prince...'

'Lets just get this over with.' Tsuki sighed, the faster she got this over with, the faster she could get the hell away from Belphegor.

The blonde assassin instantly lost interest in Tsuki the moment they got to the cakes and pastries section, so, knowing a chance when she saw one, the brunette detached herself from the insane prince in order to go find herself the tampons and pads for which she was going through this whole ordeal in the first place.

It was while Tsuki was shopping for groceries, that Bel decided to show his face again, this time carrying a whole mountain of pastries. The brunette blinked, her jaw practically dropping to the ground when he boldly announced that he wanted to buy all of them,

'Say what?' Bel sniggered at the girl's dumbfounded face, not hiding his amusement as he tried to stuff all of the things he was holding inside her basket, which was futile of course, seeing as it was actually much more than the amount of stuff a single basket could carry. It didn't take him long to realize that, and, as expected, he went for the easiest solution, which was taking someone else's basket. By force. Not that they resisted much after he flashed them one of those weirdly-shaped knives he kept with him at all times.

'We still need strawberry milk for Mammon...' Tsuki said, going over all the things written on Lussuria's list, checking for anything she might've forgotten. 'Then there's these er... magazines... for Lussuria, and... uh, six bottles of shampoo and another six of conditioner...?'

'The shark commander has so much hair that he uses up three bottles of shampoo a week.' Bel said, sniggering as he did so.

'Wow...'

'Ushishi.'

Grabbing a bottle of strawberry milk and a whole armful of hair products, the duo needed to "borrow" another basket, a task which, despite Tsuki's hesitation, Bel was only too happy to fulfill.

The unlucky idiot actually tried to put up a fight this time, and for once, Tsuki was happy to actually be on Belphegor's side and not against him, because damn, his scare tactics were no joke. The brunette had to spend twenty minutes calming the man's kids down as Bel stood aside, grinning widely and upsetting them each time Tsuki thought they had relaxed a bit.

* * *

><p>That, Tsuki grumpily told herself as she walked down what <em>looked<em> like it could be a path in the seemingly endless forest, was the last time ever she was going shopping with Belphegor again.

Okay, perhaps it was partly her fault as well, for refusing to get in the car, but really, who could blame her when the blonde drove like a freaking maniac? Anyone would prefer public transport to an insane prince that would love nothing more than to see her insides splattered all over the road.

He'd told her of course, and she'd been aware of it too, that there were no buses that could take her till the Varia castle, but Tsuki had been stubborn, insisting on taking the buss until where it could take her and then going on on foot.

What she hadn't counted on, was getting lost in the huge forest surrounding the castle which the assassins lived in, randomly following paths and hoping she'd end up at her destination. It hadn't been much of a plan to begin with, but now it felt downright stupid.

She should've let Belphegor drive her back, because if she stayed out there too long, she might end up being killed by some ferocious animal instead of a car wreck.

Both scenarios sucked.

Getting depressed, Tsuki plopped down on the ground, leaning her back against a tree and pulling one of Belphegor's countless cakes, this one a particularly tasty-looking pastry covered in chocolate, out of one of the shopping bags she was carrying.

If she was going to die anyway, she might as well go down eating cake...

'Huh? Bride woman?' A monotone voice broke through her thoughts, making Tsuki's head snap up, she knew that voice...! 'What are you doing here?'

'Fran...!' She gasped, feeling relief wash through her as she saw the teal hair and ridiculous frog hat. 'Thank god, I thought I was going to die out here...'

'Oya oya... what do we have here, little one?' A new voice was heard, making Tsuki realize that there actually was a second person present. Craning her neck to look over Fran's shoulder at the man standing behind him, Tsuki was met with a heterochromic gaze. A blue eye and a rather creepy red one.

'That's Tsuki, shishou, the fake-prince's wife.'

'Oh?' Fran's "shishou" let out a creepy chuckle that sounded a bit like "kufufu", making no effort to hide his obvious amusement at the illusionist's previous statement. 'Prince The Ripper's wife? I didn't think Belphegor was the kind to even consider marriage. Kufufu.'

'Ah, didn't you know, shishou? They were both so drunk they could hardly stand... not to mention the hangover that followed.' Tsuki felt herself turning completely red as the man with the... rather peculiar choice of hairstyle, chuckled. It really _did_ look like a pineapple, Tsuki mentally noted in a moment of amazement. 'Hey, bride woman, why are you out here anyway? Didn't the long haired commander promise to "cut your shitty head off" if you as much as set a foot outside the castle?'

'Ah, yes, I know that...' Tsuki started, pushing herself up, at the same time picking the plastic bags up from the ground. 'But I needed to go do some shopping... and Lussuria made Belphegor take me...'

'Oh, I see, you were scared off by the prince's driving.' Tsuki grimly nodded, not particularly liking that she was being reminded of her horrible experience of twenty five minutes in a car with Bel.

'I said I'd take the buss back, but I kinda got lost in this forest...' She sheepishly admitted.

'Kufufu.' Gosh, that laugh was creepy, almost as creepy as Belphegor's... _almost_. 'I see, we were just heading for the Varia castle ourselves.' The pineapple-haired man said, chuckling once again.

'Shishou, you're creeping her out, you know.'

'Kufufu. Silence, little one.' Tsuki's eyes widened as a trident (how the heck _that_ had suddenly appeared in the man's hand, the girl had no idea) penetrated the black fabric of Fran's frog hat, much like Belphegor's knives did on a daily basis. She could just never get used to it, if it was her being constantly stabbed, Tsuki would've screamed bloody murder. But Fran, being Fran, simply let out a monotone "ow, shishou, that hurt".

The rest of the trip went on pretty much in silence as Fran and his shishou, who had now been introduced as Rokudo Mukuro, led the way. The relief Tsuki felt as she started making out the castle's towers in the distance, was too much to describe, she would live to see another day after all.

'I'll be taking my leave then, kufufu.' Tsuki blinked as Mukuro was suddenly surrounded by indigo mist, the next moment disappearing altogether. Fran didn't pay it any heed, simply proceeding to walk over to the castle's big front door, as if what they'd just witnessed was completely normal.

Well, then again, Tsuki had already seen Mammon flying with the aid of that strange snake of hers countless times, so perhaps, disappearing in a cloud of indigo mist wasn't that weird after all...

'Tsuki-chan!' Tsuki had barely even set a foot inside the castle when Lussuria tackled her, apologizing for forgetting about Bel's tendency of going fast when he was the one driving, even Squalo didn't yell too much (at Tsuki at least), when he found out the whole story, as he himself had apparently been at the end of experiencing Belphegor's horrific driving skills first-hand before as well.

Belphegor just sniggered like the lunatic he was.

'Ushishi, that was rather fun, peasant. Lets go shopping together again some time.' Turning to give Bel a pointed look, Tsuki snapped exactly what she was thinking at the blonde.

'Over my dead body.'

'Ushishi.'


	4. Cleaning up

'This is all junk.' Fran complained in a monotone kind of voice as he dug through the box placed between his legs, momentarily stopping to throw out what looked like it could be one of the very first Walkman models to have ever come out, before wordlessly carrying on with his task.

As Tsuki looked up from the box placed in front of her, the brunette couldn't help but agree. You'd think no one had done a good clean-up around the castle in at least fifty years, Fran and her had been going through these boxes Lussuria had retrieved from the basement for over two hours now, and the majority of what they'd found had been either smashed and broken beyond repair, or so old that they could probably be sold off for a small fortune in an antique shop.

It was starting to get depressing, really.

'At least we're not stuck mopping the floor, right?' The girl tried to start a conversation, though she knew that, even if Fran _did_ decide to participate, she'd probably end up getting insulted several times. 'I mean, with all those rooms and floors, it can't be an easy job...'

The teal-haired illusionist actually seemed to give it some thought, before slowly nodding.

'I suppose you're right...' He finally said 'We're better off than the long-haired commander.'

Tsuki absently nodded, ever since this "decimo" guy had called a fortnight ago, the Varia and everyone living within the castle walls had been cleaning non-stop. Even now, after having seen them at it quite a few times already, Tsuki found it hard to believe that the men known as the mafia's most feared assassins were partaking in something as ordinary as sweeping and mopping the floors.

Apparently, the Vongola (the Family to which the Varia belonged) had the tradition of throwing this huge party every Christmas, and while this usually took place in a castle somewhere on the other side of Italy, this year, due to certain circumstances, they were unable to host it there, leading to the Varia castle having to act as a substitute.

How exactly the force of just three people had managed to actually _blow up_ an entire castle, Tsuki wasn't sure, she only knew that dynamites, pink grenades and a fedora-wearing baby had somehow been involved.

It had taken a lot of convincing (begging) and a phone call from some guy called "Nono", but, in the end, the caller had gotten Xanxus's begrudging approval ("If that wine you bring tastes like shit, I'm gonna blow your brains out, trash").

Which was how the whole of Varia, except Bel (who'd somehow wormed his way out of it saying something about a high-priority mission) and Xanxus (whom no one was suicidal enough to even think of asking), ended up helping out with party preparations.

Tsuki had been astonished to say the least to see that even Mammon was helping, floating around with a duster in her hands, brushing the dust off random objects located around the castle. Tsuki later found out, of course, that she'd been paid the amount of an S-rank mission by Lussuria in order to do so.

'Hey, bride woman.'

'Huh?' Snapping out of her thoughts, Tsuki turned to the teal-haired illusionist. 'Did you say something?'

Instead of answering, Fran held up a small stack of papers, making Tsuki sigh.

'More of them?' The brunette asked, her voice making it obvious that she was less than thrilled to find out what she just had. Ten percent of all the things they'd sorted through that day had been papers, and the annoying thing was that Tsuki wasn't even sure if they were to be thrown away or important, and such, should be kept.

'Just throw them over here.'

Perhaps using that exact wording wasn't the best of ideas, for the next moment, a bunch of papers, bills and envelopes came flying at Tsuki. Having always been the type of people that accidentally somehow always managed to be hit by the things thrown at them right in the face, it wasn't all that big of a surprise when she only managed to catch three of the envelopes, letting the other thirty-something get scattered all over the floor.

'Wow... you sure suck at catching things, bride woman...'

'Don't remind me.' Tsuki grumbled, kneeling down to pick up the fallen papers. 'I've heard enough of it during my high school days.'

It wasn't exactly like she'd been picked on, but her inability to catch anything coming her way (may that be an eraser, a ball or a book) and her overall clumsiness had always been a cause of giggling around the classroom.

Well at least, she mused to herself, there had been _one_ guy even worse than her... now that she thought back at it, his misfortune seemed almost unnatural, worst grades, last in sports and accident-prone... he still managed to somehow hang out with two of the class's most popular guys though, even getting engaged to the school idol... sounded like he was rich too now.

Well, who would've guessed.

'Bills, bills, reports, more bills, ah?' Turning the envelope she was holding around, Tsuki raised an eyebrow at who it was addressed to, what was _that_ doing there?

'Say, Fran...' The teal-haired illusionist, who was busy poking a horribly mutilated plush toy he'd found inside one of the boxes (why exactly _that_ was in the HQ of an assassination squad, Tsuki was sure she'd rather not know), didn't say anything, but Tsuki knew he was listening. 'There aren't any kids around here... are there?'

Discarding the toy, the teal-haired illusionist turned to Tsuki.

'The youngest member we've got is fifteen...' He said, not sounding like he was really interested. 'And Mammon-senpai, she doesn't really count as a child though.'

Tsuki frowned, she couldn't picture Mammon writing that kind of a letter, and a fifteen-year-old was already way too old to believe in it... there had had to have been a kid around there _sometime_. Who else could've written the letter?

'Why are you asking?'

'Ah, um, it's nothing... just this letter I found...' Tsuki said, not exactly sure about how much she should tell Fran, the teal-haired illusionist wasn't interested though and just shrugged, looking away again.

Letting curiosity get the best of her, Tsuki turned the envelope around, carefully opening it though she knew she really shouldn't. The brunette's eyes moved over to the date written on the upper right corner of the letter, finding herself surprised by how old it actually was. 1993, that was... eighteen years ago, wasn't it?

_Fat peasant in red_, it started.

Well, that at least, left no doubt as to who had written this... only _that_ jerk could possibly be arrogant enough to start his letter in a fashion like that instead of the usual "Dear Santa" kids tended to write.

What was a letter of Belphegor's childhood doing in the Varia castle though? According to the date, he should've been just eight years old then, shouldn't that letter be at his home then, wherever the heck that was?

Shaking her head, Tsuki focused back on the letter, oddly curious about what the child Belphegor would want from Santa.

_It's almost Christmas again and the prince has been a good boy, he hasn't stabbed a single peasant in the past twenty-four hours (that is excluding the five he killed on a mission earlier), and didn't even annoy Squalo (too much)._

_Therefore, you are now entitled to bring the prince whatever he asks for._

_The prince has enclosed a list with all the things he wants inside the envelope._

_Prince Belphegor._

Turning the paper around, Tsuki realized that that was it. Well, it certainly was unlike any letter she'd ever written to Santa Claus.

But that aside, how old had the blonde assassin actually been when he joined the Varia? Judging from the fact Squalo was mentioned, he should've already been part of the Vongola's elite assassination squad when he wrote that letter. Thinking of an eight-year-old being part of a squad of highly-skilled and dangerous assassins made her sick. When Tsuki had been eight years old, she'd been running around pretending to be Sailor Moon and playing with Barbie dolls.

Shaking her head, Tsuki quickly reached over to the envelope, pulling out the list little Belphegor had mentioned, her jaw practically hitting the ground when her eyes fell on all the things the child was asking for.

Damn, the cost of all that stuff could probably support the finances of a third world country for a whole year. If Mammon saw this, she'd have a seizure, no doubt.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Tsuki suddenly noticed something else. There was a P.S.?

'Eh? As expected of the fake prince.' Tsuki gasped, jumping about a foot in the air as the monotone voice suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

'Holy- Fran? W-when did you get behind me...?' The illusionist just ignored her, taking the letter from her hand and reading the P.S. out loud.

'_If the prince doesn't find all the above under the Varia Christmas tree on Christmas morning, he's going to hunt you down and kill you. Painfully._ Seems like senpai hasn't changed much over the course of years, huh, bride woman?'

'Er... um, right...'

Not knowing exactly what to say, Tsuki took the letter back, putting it into the envelope again before going on with gathering the things scattered all over the ground, they had to get done with this sometime, preferably today.

* * *

><p>'Lussuria-nee...?' Tsuki called out entering the kitchen, her faded jeans and T-shirt completely covered in dust by then, Fran had already taken off to take a shower, leaving it to the brunette to take their findings to the flamboyant man in charge of the cleaning party.<p>

'Yes dear?' The Varia boxer asked as he turned around, showing off his bright pink apron as he smiled brightly. 'Are you and Fran-chan done with the basement?'

Tsuki nodded, setting the box on the table and letting out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. All she needed now, was a good warm bath and a long night's sleep. Yes, her plan for tonight had just been set.

Or so she thought.

'Tsuki dear, you don't have any pretty dresses in your closet, do you?' The brunette blinked, turning to look at Lussuria, a confused look on her face.

'Dresses? Why would I-'

The man just giggled, making Tsuki's eyes widen at his next words.

'Why, you're attending tonight's party of course!'

'I- what?'

'You didn't honestly think you'd be left out, did you?' The boxer giggled girlishly.

Tsuki didn't know what to say, she obviously didn't want to take part in some Mafia gathering, she wouldn't have wanted even if it wasn't relative with the Mafia, big crowds just weren't her thing. She'd quite honestly hoped to spend her evening away from whatever would be going on outside her bedroom walls.

'Er, I don't-'

'No need to worry!' The man exclaimed cheerfully, taking hold of Tsuki's hands before she could refuse. 'Luss-nee-chan will take care of you Tsuki-chan...!'

* * *

><p>'I'm not so sure about this...' The brunette muttered as she was pulled inside the flamboyant man's bedroom thirty minutes later, showered and clean again. The room was surprisingly tastefully decorated, the girl mentally commented, looking at the many pictures of the Varia Lussuria had hung around the walls as well as a couple of posters of some boxer by the name of "Sasagawa Ryohei".<p>

'Just sit down there, dear.' Lussuria said, pushing Tsuki down into the chair in front of a big mirror, leaving to check his closet the next moment.

The brown-haired girl considered trying to make a run for it while the Varia sun guardian wasn't looking, but then remembered who exactly the man was, there was no doubt that someone like Tsuki wouldn't stand a chance against an assassin of Lussuria's caliber. So Tsuki remained seated, opting to take a look at all the pictures situated all around the room instead.

There was one in particular that caught her attention, a picture from undoubtedly a long while ago, seeing as Fran wasn't even in it and Squalo's hair was short.

They were all standing outside, Xanxus looking downright murderous as Squalo had slung his arm around the teenager's shoulders, grinning at the camera. It suddenly occurred to Tsuki that none of the scars he had on his face now were present back then, a weird kind of accessory that looked like a raccoon tail hanging from his neck.

Next to Xanxus, an almost unchanged Levi stood, looking just like the creepy stalker he still was, evidently, creepy was something the Varia thunder guardian had always been.

Quickly moving on from Levi, Tsuki's eyes fell onto Lussuria, who was pretty much still the same as well, still colorful and, well, gay. He was smiling at the camera, waving excitedly as he striked up a pose.

The last two people in the picture, were Belphegor and Mammon.

A tiny, adorable little Belphegor, and a Mammon that had not changed at all.

The blonde boy in the picture could not be older than eight or nine years old, his long golden bangs (which had apparently been straight back then) covering his eyes as he grinned at the camera, a silver little crown perched on top of his head as he held Mammon in his arms, like a child hugging his favorite toy.

Tsuki wasn't all that surprised to notice the arcobaleno was holding a wad of cash in her hands, completely ignoring her surroundings as she counted every single penny of the money she'd collected.

In the course of years, Tsuki could see that much had changed, and yet, at the same time, nothing had changed at all.

'That one's from a long while ago...' Lussuria said, having realized what Tsuki was looking at and moving over to her as well, holding what looked like a red dress in his arms. 'It's from a few weeks after Bel-chan joined...'

Tsuki nodded, her eyes still on the picture. As she inspected it, she couldn't help but ask-

'How old was he?'

'Eight.' The flamboyant man answered, turning away to find a pair of matching shoes for the brunette. Why exactly the boxer had all that in his room, Tsuki wasn't sure she wanted to know. 'He's the youngest to ever join by far... just came to us one day, demanding to be part of the Varia.'

Tsuki nodded, deciding not to pry any further, there'd undoubtedly be a story behind how Belphegor ended up at the assassins' doorstep, and the brunette was pretty certain she didn't have the stomach to find out.

The following hour and a half was pretty much spent in silence, only Lussuria's humming being heard as the man worked on Tsuki's hair and make up like an expert, comparing eye-shadows and hair accessories.

Tsuki just sat silently as the flamboyant man did his job, her eyes closed just as she'd been instructed. Apparently, Lussuria wanted to surprise her with the end result just as much as he wanted to surprise everyone else.

'Okay,' The boxer finally said, stepping back to admire his fine artwork. 'You can open your eyes now, Tsuki.'

Feeling the nervousness in the pit of her stomach multiply several times, Tsuki quickly opened her eyes, her jaw dropping to the floor as she stared at the astonished girl staring right back at her. That was... _her._..?

But it looked nothing like her...!

Her brown hair had been pulled up into some kind of a dot, a few strands left to hang free, the make up applied professionally. The red dress Lussuria had chosen out for her toned all of the right places, at the same time hiding the flaws, he really couldn't have made a better choice.

Getting up, Tsuki twirled around, watching her mirror self repeat her actions.

'It came out quite well, didn't it?' Lussuria spoke up, smiling at the brown-haired girl. Tsuki just nodded, not being able to actually produce any words quite yet. 'Well then, you should get going.' The boxer said, glancing at the clock. 'I'm afraid I got a bit carried away, and I'm still not ready either...'

'Oh, er, okay...'

Thanking Lussuria, Tsuki left him to his own devices, hesitantly making her way over to the hall she knew everyone would be. She'd honestly much rather not do this, but there wasn't a chance in hell Lussuria would let her skip the party either, that much the man had made clear.

Sighing, Tsuki placed her hand on the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing it open and stepping inside.


	5. The party

The ballroom was packed with people, people of all ages, genders, nationalities and religions. As Tsuki looked around her, she couldn't help but feel a knot forming inside her stomach.

Squalo hadn't been overreacting when he'd said that there'd be hundreds of guests coming from all over the world.

Tsuki took a few cautious steps forward, her shyness almost immediately kicking in and making her blush every time someone as much as turned to look her way. Oh, how she hated crowds.

Quickening her pace, the brunette's eyes quickly scanned the room for a familiar face. She didn't care if it was one of the Varia hooligans, at this point, even seeing Belphegor would be a relief. And that was saying something.

'VOI! You stupid woman!' The shout pierced through the air, making Tsuki jump, stumbling backwards for a moment before regaining her balance and turning to look behind her wide eyed. 'About damn time!'

'S-Squalo...?' The girl gasped, staring at the Varia's second-in-command, surprise written all over her face. The silver-haired swordsman was looking pretty pissed off, for once not wearing his Varia uniform but a black suit instead, a fact he didn't seem all too happy about either. 'You scared me.' Tsuki sighed, placing a hand over her heart.

'Like I care! Move it, woman, the decimo brat wants to meet you!'

Squalo's words seemed to have the opposite effect of what he'd hoped for though, as Tsuki's eyes widened again, her feet remaining unhelpfully frozen to the ground.

'VOOOOIIIIIII! WHAT IS IT NOW?' If his previous shouts had attracted plenty looks from the people surrounding them, this particular scream attracted the attention of almost every single person inside the room.

Tsuki felt her face turn tomato red as everyone's eyes fell on her.

'Come on already, will you? We don't have all night to dawdle around!' Having said that, the swordsman grabbed her arm, pulling the still-frozen Tsuki along through the crowd and towards what would undoubtedly be her ultimate doom.

From what she'd heard from the other Varia members, the Vongola Decimo was the current boss of their Family, even if the elite assassins refused to acknowledge that fact. Someone that was the boss of the Varia, the boss of Xanxus, would undoubtedly be a terrifying person.

'Squalo, you're back! Haha!' Turning to the black haired guy that had just spoken, Tsuki found her eyes widening for the umpteenth time that night. 'Want a drink?'

'Voi! No, I don't want a drink, you brat! Where's that Sawada shit?'

'_Teme_!' The silver haired guy standing at the other side of the buffet growled out, glaring at the swordsman. 'Show a bit more respect towards the Jyuudaime, you bastard!'

'I'll speak of the little shit however I want, you scum!'

Within moments, Tsuki was terrified to realize both of the silver-haired individuals had pulled out their weapons, Squalo the sword he permanently kept strapped to his wrist, and the scarily familiar-looking guy a handful of dynamites.

'Haha, nothing better than a bit of friendly rivalry between colleagues, right?'

Tsuki turned to look at the cheerful guy that had just spoken, disbelief obvious on her face. He called that _friendly_? It looked more like they were trying to murder each other to Tsuki.

But that aside... if _those_ two guys were there... it couldn't possibly be that- no, no way, that'd be ridiculous... the Vongola Decimo she'd heard so much about couldn't possibly be-

'Gokudera-kun...! Squalo-san! Please stop what you're doing!'

Turing to her right, Tsuki stared, and stared, and stared.

'Well I'll be damned...' She whispered, still staring at the person that had just joined them.

_Dame-Tsuna_. He had changed a lot in the course of years, acquiring a much more masculine built for one, his brown eyes much older and mature now. Tsuki was surprised to find herself thinking that he didn't actually look half bad.

'Sawada-san...?' The girl asked, surprise and disbelief lacing her voice.

The brown-haired guy, who'd just managed to stop the fight between Squalo and Gokudera, turned to look at her, looking confused for a moment, before realization suddenly flashed through his eyes, making them widen in surprise as well.

'Aohana-san... wha-' He paused, not too sure of what to say apparently. 'I didn't know you were part of the Mafia as well...'

'Ah, I-I'm not... I just-' Before she could properly phrase herself and explain the rather unusual situation she'd gotten herself in, an earsplitting exclamation of "VOOOOOIIIIIIIIII!" interrupted her, turning both Tsuki and Tsuna's attention to the silver-haired swordsman.

'You scum know this damn woman?' He asked (shouted), causing Yamamoto to laugh, an action which promptly earned him a glare fiercer than hell itself. The black-haired baseball player though, being who he was, took no notice of it whatsoever.

'Didn't you know Squalo?' He asked the swordsman cheerfully. 'Tsukiko-chan used to be a classmate of ours.'

The "VOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" that followed was heard until in Japan, causing a certain Miura Haru to jump, gasping her infamous "hahi!" as she looked around the empty street.

'Classmate?' Squalo shouted out in disbelief, making everyone within hearing range wince. 'Why the hell didn't you tell us?'

'I-I didn't know that Sawada-san and the others were in the Mafia.' The girl quickly said, not particularly fancying getting chopped to pieces by that big blade strapped to the swordsman's wrist. 'Much less that the "Decimo" you kept talking about was Dame- er- Sawada-san.'

Tsuki honestly hoped no one had noticed her slip-up, though, by the dirty look Gokudera was giving her, she supposed that was rather unlikely.

The girl mentally told herself to watch her tongue from now on, she'd been referring to Sawada Tsunayoshi as "Dame-Tsuna" for as long as she could remember knowing him (a habit she wasn't all that proud of, now that she'd grown up), but it'd be bad if she were to accidentally slip up and call the boss of Vongola that.

'Haha, but we were rather surprised as well...' Yamamoto said cheerfully, turning Tsuki's attention away from the swordsman, something which she was grateful for.

'Yes, you EXTREMELY don't look like a person that would marry Belphegor-san!' A loud boxer the brunette could faintly recall being the older brother of one of her classmates (Sasagawa one-or-the-other) exclaimed.

'I suppose it works as long as you're happy though...' The black-haired baseball player ended, smiling brightly at Tsuki, who was just looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

Happy? They probably hadn't been told the whole story... not that she knew it either... anything about that damned night was still as fuzzy as it had been when she woke up in Belphegor's bed that one morning.

'Kufufu.' Tsuki looked up, momentarily distracted from clearing up the misunderstanding as her eyes fell on the guy with the pineapple hairstyle, Fran's shishou. A girl was standing behind him, wearing an eye-patch, her hair put up just like the blue-haired illusionist's.

'Mukuro! Chrome!' Tsuna exclaimed, looking surprised for a moment before regaining his composure.

Gokudera, on the other hand, wasn't as calm.

'You!' He exclaimed, glaring at the illusionist as he pulled out a handful of new dynamites, undoubtedly ready to blow Mukuro to pieces. The latter ignored him however, turning to the brown-haired mafia boss standing next to Tsuki instead.

'Sawada Tsunayoshi.' He spoke 'You might want to do something about your tutor before this castle is destroyed as well, kufufu, I doubt Xanxus would appreciate that.' Mukuro chuckled as Tsuna just looked at him, confusion written all over his face.

'Reborn?' He asked. 'What is he doing this time?'

The illusionist only smirked, a sign which, Tsuki was sure, meant nothing good.

'It would seem like some idiot spilled his espresso.'

The impact that simple sentence had on the Vongola boss and the mafiosi surrounding him, was almost comical.

'Voi! Sawada! You better stop that crazy-ass arcobaleno, you scum!' Squalo shouted, for the first time since Tsuki met him not volunteering to fight himself.

The brunette nodded, not looking all that certain as he turned around and started pushing through the crowd to get to that "Reborn" person.

'Kufufu. This might become quite entertaining to watch, shall we go get a closer view, Chrome?'

The timid-looking girl to his right nodded, making Mukuro "kufufu" again. With that, the duo walked off, leaving Tsuki with Yamamoto, Sasagawa and Squalo (Gokudera had run off to assist Tsuna).

'Haha, better get over there as well...' Yamamoto said. 'Who knows what the kid will try to do? He gets pretty scary when it comes to his coffee, after all.'

'We need to EXTREMELY get there!' Sasagawa exclaimed, running off after Tsuna and Gokudera, closely followed by Yamamoto. Tsuki, curious as to who this "Reborn" person everyone seemed to fear was, quickly followed them.

It didn't take the trio long to reach their destination, it was kind of hard to miss anyways.

Sawada was standing right in the middle of it, alongside a handsome blonde holding what looked like a whip, trying to reason with a baby who was standing above one of Levi's men, holding a bright green gun to the latter's head, emitting a deadly aura.

'It's not worth it, Reborn.' Tsuna tried to calm down the fedora-wearing infant. 'Please, just put the gun away.' The look Reborn turned to give him, caused the brunette to cry out the loud "HIIIII" he'd been so infamous for during his school days. It seemed like the habit had stuck with him to adulthood.

'Shut up Dame-Tsuna. No one spills my espresso.'

Levi's subordinate trembled in fear, having a nervous breakdown and starting to beg for his life. If anything, that only seemed to irritate Reborn even more.

'Yare, yare... I haven't seen Reborn this pissed in a while...'

Turning around, Tsuki found herself staring at another infant, this one floating in the mid-air with the aid of her pet. Mammon had not bothered to take her cloak and hood off in order to change into some formal clothes, having tied a red ribbon around Phantasma's neck instead.

'You-you know him...?' Tsuki asked, eyeing Reborn from out of the corner of her eye before turning to Mammon again.

'We're... associates...' Was all the arcobaleno said. Realizing that was all she was going to find out from Mammon (without paying a billion euros or something, at least), the brunette turned her focus back on the fight unfolding in front of her.

As she watched, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd seen that baby somewhere before.

But that'd be impossible, wouldn't it? As far as Tsuki knew, nor her, nor her family had ever had any ties with the mafia.

She pondered over it for a while longer, watching Reborn carefully. Where could she possibly have met the fedora-wearing infant?

That was when it hit her, like a ton of bricks to the head, she might as well add.

That baby had been at Namimori middle! He'd been that god-awful teacher that took over after their maths teacher left to take Gokudera to the infirmary on class-visitation day one year!

He'd spoken of the mafia almost constantly (not that anyone had taken him seriously back then), throwing pieces of chalk around at both parents and students alike, rendering them unconscious for at least a few hours. He'd even made Tsuna sit in an electric chair, electrocuting the brunette.

Tsuki remembered having nightmares about the incident for months after it happened.

'Hmm... he's getting quite serious about this...' The brown-haired girl heard Mammon suddenly mutter, pulling her out of her thoughts. Turning to look at the arcobaleno, Tsuki found her having turned around and floating off.

'Huh? Where are you going Mammon?'

'I need to empty my vaults in case Reborn blows the castle up.' Having said that, the infant took off, leaving Tsuki behind.

Blow up? The arcobaleno didn't actually mean that, did she? But Mammon never joked around, especially if it was something money-related... everyone knew that.

The brunette turned back to the fight in front of her, watching Reborn, Tsuna and the blonde fearfully. Perhaps they _could_ blow up the entire castle.

Much to her relief though, the Varia wasn't rendered homeless, Tsuna and the blond guy managing to calm the fedora-wearing baby down with the promise of many espressos to compensate for the lost one instead.

'Are you okay?' Tsuki asked, moving over to the blonde who was sitting on the ground, where he'd landed after Reborn kicked him with a force no infant should normally possess.

'Ah, yeah, I'm quite alright...' The statement was, however, proved wrong when the blonde attempted to stand up, wobbling on his feet for a while before losing his balance completely.

'Whoa...!' Even Tsuki was surprised when she somehow caught him, stopping the guy's fall and helping him get back to his feet again. 'You sure you're fine...?' The brown-haired girl asked, helping the blonde over to the closest chair, which he promptly plopped down in.

'Haha, yeah, I'm fine now. Sorry about that.' The guy said, rubbing the back of his head and grinning sheepishly. 'I'm Dino, by the way.'

'Oh, er, Tsuki.'

Reaching out, Tsuki was about to take the blonde's hand, but before they could even make contact, something (or rather, some_one_) suddenly pulled the brunette back, causing her to fall right into the stranger's arms.

'Ushishi. The prince has been looking for you, peasant.' A familiar voice spoke up, making the brunette's eyes widen.

'B-Belphegor...?' Tsuki stuttered, looking back to find the grinning self-proclaimed prince standing right there, his hands gripping her arm so tightly it was undoubtedly starting to bruise. 'What are you-'

Bel, completely ignoring her, started to pull the girl away, not even letting her say goodbye to Dino properly.

'Wha- let go, you're hurting me!' Her protests fell on deaf ears though, for the prince continued dragging her along away from Dino, only stopping when he was satisfied with the distance he'd put between them.

'Why were you talking to Cavallone?' He demanded, making the brown-haired girl in front of him, who was massaging the sore arm the prince had finally let go off, look at the assassin prince weirdly.

'What do you care?'

'Just answer the question, peasant.' Tsuki, who'd never seen Bel angry before (irritated, many times, but never angry) took a step back eyeing the tiara-wearing blonde warily.

'I was just helping Dino-san because he was hurt.' She told the assassin truthfully. Belphegor clicked his tongue at her response, obviously not happy with it.

'Well don't.' He finally snapped.

'I'm sorry?'

'I _said_, peasant, don't let me catch you talking to that idiot again.' When she heard the words that left the self-proclaimed prince's mouth, something just snapped inside her head, it was the last straw.

'You can't order me around!' She said, actually glaring at the assassin prince in front of her, who didn't seem to be liking her reaction all that much.

Belphegor grinned widely, one of his silver weird-shaped knives suddenly appearing in his hand from god-knows-where it was that he kept them.

'Wanna try, peasant?' He hissed, the blade dangerously close to her skin.

Before Tsuki could either step down or do something incredibly stupid, a huge _BOOM_ echoed throughout the castle, the floor starting to tremble under their feet.

The brunette lost her balance, falling on the ground, just like many others did.

An earthquake? Tsuki thought panicking. At a time like this? It couldn't be.

'Xanxus-sama!' One of the Varia underlings shouted as he ran into the room, turning everyone's attention to him. Tsuki felt her eyes widen, her hands moving over to cover her mouth as she gasped at the sight she was met with. The man was covered in blood, a sword coated in some kind of red fire being held in his hand, his eyes wide as he panted, exhausted from running all the way to the ballroom. 'We're under attack!'


	6. Vongola and Varia vs Rossi

_'Xanxus-sama!' One of the Varia underlings shouted as he ran into the room, turning everyone's attention to him. 'We're under attack!'_

* * *

><p>Tsuki stared at the man in shock, her eyes wide in horror as complete pandemonium unfolded right in front of her.<p>

People were running in all directions, screaming and shouting and panicking and crying. They were pushing one another, trying to get to the exit as soon as possible, not caring if they trampled over somebody else in order to do so.

Tsuna was trying to get everyone to calm down, shouting at them to stop running and evacuate the place in order, that way avoiding any unnecessary injuries. Not that anyone listened to him anyway, panic always made people do unreasonable things, one guy even attempting to jump out of the window, an action that would've undoubtedly ended in certain death for him, had Yamamoto not stopped him.

'Are you dumb, woman? Get the hell up!' Belphegor's voice suddenly snapped Tsuki back to reality, a hand reaching out and roughly pulling her to her feet.

As the brunette turned to look at the assassin in front of her, she saw him standing in a fighting position, several of his weird-shaped knives held in each hand, the insane grin that was always plastered on his lips being absent for once as he stared in front of him in concentration.

Glancing around her, Tsuki noticed that several of the more calm people had started taking their weapons out as well, Tsuna shouting something about a pair of mittens.

'It's the Rossi family!' One of the Varia underlings suddenly shouted, as people started to storm in, all of them armed and dangerous-looking, all kinds of weird fires surrounding their weapons.

'I'll bite you to death.'

Before anyone could say or do anything, the guy that had been standing right behind Bel and Tsuki (the head of the Namimori disciplinary committee, Hibari Kyoya, the girl was surprised to realize), jumped forward, a weird kind of purple fire surrounding his tonfas. The brunette stared in disbelief and pure fascination as her black-haired senpai took out about a dozen of enemies single-handed in less that thirty seconds.

She'd heard rumors of him being good with his tonfas... but this...

'Kufufu, shall we join too, my cute Chrome?' She somehow heard Mukuro ask over all the noise. Whatever this "Chrome" answered though, was tuned out by Squalo's earsplitting "VOOOIIIII"s that filled the room only seconds later, indicating that the silver-haired swordsman had joined the battle as well.

It was a matter of time before the whole room was filled with mafiosi, weird flame-coated weapons and, strangely enough, animals. And the brunette was standing right in the middle of it all.

She'd have loved to make a run for it, but, as things were right now, she could spot no safe route to leave from, both the Vongola and Rossi family were fighting fiercely. At this point, Tsuki begrudgingly admitted, her best chance of surviving was sticking to Belphegor.

'Ushishi.' The insane self-proclaimed prince sniggered, launching several knives at the men crowding in front of him, each one of them hitting it's target perfectly, killing off seven men in one swipe.

Tsuki felt her stomach twist and her eyes tear up. There was so much blood, the stench was making her sick. She was horrified, she just wanted to get out of there. But she couldn't, for she knew she might end up like one of the bodies lying all around them if she attempted to. She wasn't an assassin, or a mafia boss, or even a fight-obsessed prefect, all of them could hold up in a fight, Tsuki on the other hand... she was just Tsuki...

'VOOOIIIII! WHERE DID THAT SHITTY BABY GO ON A TIME LIKE THIS?' Squalo shouted as he slashed his way through his enemies, looking around for a certain Varia mist guardian, who was noticeably absent. Tsuki didn't trust herself to speak, who knew what the man would do if he found out the infant was emptying her vaults in case something happened to the castle instead of fighting and defending said castle, as she was supposed to be doing.

Taking a step back, Tsuki stumbled into someone, letting out a strangled squeak when the person turned to face her, a weird, skull-shaped _thing_ leaking some kind of red flames pointed right at her face.

'Go-Gokudera-san...!' She gasped, immediately backing off again, her palms held up in a kind of peace gesture.

'Watch it, you damn woman!' Was the only thing the silver-haired bomber told her (snapped at her) before turning away from the girl again, shooting some red shots of _something_ at the Rossi guys that had gathered in front of him, successfully defeating them all.

He was gone the next moment though, shouting something about being Tsuna's right-hand-man and having to assist the Jyuudaime.

As Tsuki turned around again, her eyes immediately darting in the direction opposite of Belphegor (she'd rather keep her lunch down, thank you very much), her eyes fell on Fran, who was looking just as apathetic as always as he stood in the middle of a little crowd, straightening his frog hat as everyone around him seemed to be trying to fight off something nonexistent.

Some were screaming for help, desperate to find an escape route, even if that meant pummeling down the ballroom's balcony (which, Tsuki could assure you, was quite a fall), while other, more brave (or simply stupid) individuals, attempted to shoot and stab the "monster" in front of them.

For a moment, the brunette couldn't help but briefly wonder what exactly it was Fran was making them see before she quickly shook her head, she did not want to know.

Turning back to Belphegor, Tsuki, in a wave of horror, realized that the double amount of people was surrounding them now.

'Che, there's no end to all the peasants.' The assassin clicked his tongue, clearly irritated. As much as he liked ripping peasants apart, those particular ones were no fun at all. Reaching inside his jacket, Tsuki wondered what kind of flashy weapon the psychopath would pull out this time, only to raise an eyebrow when a mere box was pulled out.

What was he taking a music box out for in the middle of a battle?

Belphegor, oblivious to her thoughts, simply grinned, letting an "ushishi" escape his lips.

'You're not worth the prince's time.' He finally said, raising his other hand as well, the ring around his finger suddenly being set of fire.

The brunette's eyes widened, wondering how the heck the blonde could remain so casual when his hand was practically on fire, he didn't even seem to notice it...! Shouldn't that hurt as hell? The girl watched in confusion as the blonde slammed the ring into the music box (which she realized wasn't a music box at all), making a bright new burst of red flames burst out of it.

She couldn't help but gape in complete astonishment as she watched a white feline nestle itself around the assassin prince's shoulders, purring slightly in satisfaction.

_That_ had been inside the box? How the heck did it even fit? The box was miniscule!

'Ushishi.' Bel sniggered. 'Get those peasants, Mink.'

Obedient to her master, Mink jumped off Bel's shoulders, landing on one of the Rossi guys instead, immediately setting him on fire, swiftly jumping to the guy closest to her and repeating the procedure. It didn't take them even twenty seconds before all the men surrounding them were covered in red flames, screaming in agony as Bel sniggered, watching the scene in front of him as if it was the most entertaining sight he'd ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes on.

Tsuki, on the other hand, felt like she might be sick. Really sick. She wanted to block out the screams, pleas and cries so badly, just like she'd blocked the horrible sight of it by closing her eyes... and, god, that creepy laugh of Belphegor's, taking sadistic pleasure in the pain he was inflicting on others, she was definitely going to be sick.

Oh fuck, that smell- they were _burning._ Literally.

Turning around, the brunette barely had the time to cover her mouth before her knees buckled, forcing her to fall down on the ground as she emptied the contents of her stomach all over the floor.

She couldn't take it, it was too much. She'd been aware of the Varia being assassins of course, they'd told her so on their very first meeting after all, and she'd known of what they did, but now that she was actually witnessing it, this was a whole different thing.

'Ushishishishishi ushishi!' Tsuki could hear Belphegor sniggering as she sat there, not being able to get up quite yet, the pure _delight_ distinguishable in the prince's sniggers just urging her to puke again.

She wasn't mafia material, that much anyone that as much as threw a glance at her could tell, and that was not even mentioning the zero fighting capabilities. She was too soft, the smell of blood made her sick and she couldn't squash a bug, let alone take the life of a fellow human.

She was meant to be a kindergarten teacher or something, not living with a bunch of bloodthirsty assassins.

Tsuki's eyes widened as the floor underneath her suddenly started to shake, her head snapping up. Several lava pillars erupted from the ground, the tile floor starting to fracture, slowly breaking, her surroundings all fading to an endless black pit.

'What the-' The girl toppled backwards, yelping out in surprise and terror as a lava pillar blasted out of the floor, just a few inches away from where she'd been sitting earlier, the almost unbearable heat practically burning her as she stared at the pillar fearfully.

What the hell was that?

_'Kufufu.'_

Tsuki squeaked in surprise, her eyes widening in horror as the floor underneath her suddenly just disappeared as well. The brunette was falling, she realized, panic having reached its peak now. But where was she falling _to_?

Tsuki tried to call out for help, tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, but she couldn't, her fear was immobilizing her. She couldn't scream out for help, she couldn't do anything. It was in that horrible moment of realization that it dawned on her. She was going to die.

'Shit!' A sudden surge of pain made the brunette gasp, instantly causing her to grip her arm tightly. Tsuki looked up, blinking when she realized the room was back to normal, no lava pillars anywhere, and the floor still intact.

'Ushishi. Is the peasant finally back to reality?' The familiar voice made her gasp, her eyes widening as she turned to stare at the blonde that was standing there, a bloodied knife being held in his hand as he grinned down at Tsuki.

The girl's eyes widened, not taking her long to put two and two together.

'_You stabbed me?_' She asked, disbelief lacing her voice as she turned her gaze to her bleeding arm, it certainly _did_ look like it could've been inflicted by one of those weird little knives of Belphegor's.

'Ushishi, nothing else the prince tried would snap you out of the illusion.' Bel grinned, and as he spoke, the girl had a feeling that was not entirely true. Before she got to question it though, he grabbed her arm (luckily not the injured one) and pulled the brunette to her feet, not letting go even when she was up, pulling her along through the crowd instead, flinging a knife at the occasional Rossi officer that tried to get in their way.

'Wh-what are you- where are we going...?' Tsuki asked, doing her best to keep up with the blonde assassin, but alas, he was taller, therefore had longer legs. It was extremely tiring for the brunette to try and walk as fast as him.

'Ushishi, we're moving on to plan B, we're getting out of here, peasant.'

'Eh? What- why-' Taking a look around her, Tsuki realized that many, if not all, of the Vongola were starting to retreat, hurrying towards the exits (or, in Mukuro's case, just disappearing into a cloud of mist). What had she missed?

'Come on peasant.' Turning to look at Belphegor, the brunette blinked, she hadn't even noticed getting out on the balcony. What were they-

Tsuki's eyes widened as she saw the blonde easily climb onto the railing, balancing instantly. He couldn't possibly want her to- oh no, no, no, no, _no way in hell_. Tsuki was not doing it. Period.

'Ushishi.' Bel, as if able to read her thoughts, sniggered. 'You're gonna have to, unless you want to die, of course.'

'Are you insane? If we jump off here we'll die either way...!' The brunette panicked, trying to get away from the blonde psychopath. Belphegor simply grinned, and with a strong tug at her arm (which Tsuki had momentarily forgotten he was still holding), pulled the girl towards him, grabbing Tsuki and slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

'Belphegor-! Let go! Don't you-'

Too late, the blonde had already jumped.

Closing her eyes, Tsuki let out a scream, trying to thrash her way out of the assassin's arms, but failing miserably. As expected, the blonde was much stronger than her.

What in reality didn't probably last more than a few seconds, felt like eternity to Tsuki as she clutched onto the psychopath that was holding her, praying for her life as the wind whipped her face repeatedly.

There was a low _thud _and Tsuki felt the prince come to a stop, they were no longer falling... correction, _he_ was no longer falling.

'Ow...! What'd you drop me for?' The brunette hissed, rubbing her throbbing head. A single "ushishi" was the only answer she got from the self-proclaimed prince though, causing her to narrow her eyes at him.

Before she could go and start the argument that they'd previously left unfinished, the blonde grabbed her arm, pulling Tsuki up and dragging her along over to the thick forest surrounding the Varia castle.

As the brunette looked back, she couldn't help but wonder, _what on earth was Belphegor up to_?


	7. Wandering around

The usually crowded and noisy streets of Sienna were uncharacteristically quiet as Bel and Tsuki walked down the dimly lit pavement, their footsteps creating a soft and rhythmical _pat pat pat _against the concrete.

All of the area's shops and cafes were still closed, not that that was particularly surprising, once you took the time into consideration. Most shops didn't tend to be open at twenty to six in the morning, after all. No, the majority of people tended to still be in the blissfully warm comfort of their beds at that ungodly hour of the morning.

Tsuki certainly knew she would... if it wasn't for a certain tiara-wearing assassin, at least.

Ever since he dragged her away from the Varia castle last night, the couple had been traveling, and, needless to say, the whole thing had left the brunette dead on her feet. Still, even after a whole night of following Belphegor around, Tsuki was none the wiser as to what exactly the blonde was planning.

It was starting to get seriously confusing, not to mention irritating.

Trying to (unsuccessfully) stifle a yawn, Tsuki turned to the self-proclaimed prince walking just a few feet in front of her. He had his hands casually stuck in his pockets, making his way down the pavement and checking out the shops they passed, looking for something but apparently not finding it.

The brunette really wished he'd share some information with her on what the heck was going on, but having long since realized that pestering him about it would never end in anything good for her or her health, decided not to question him.

'Ushishi. Found one.' He suddenly sniggered, making the brunette raise an eyebrow as he pulled out a silver knife from god-knows-where, starting to twirl it around his fingers with ease.

Eying the blade apprehensively, Tsuki opted not to get any closer and just watch out for what the blonde assassin prince would do next. Surprisingly though, he didn't chuck the knife at anyone, as the brunette had quite honestly expected him to, but turned around and walked over to the nearest shop instead, a small boutique.

'What are you-' Before the young woman could end that, the assassin knelt down in front of the shop's door, answering her half ended question by carefully placing the tip of his knife inside the keyhole.

_Oh._

Now, _how_ exactly he was able to see what he was doing in the near-blinding darkness, not to mention, with those ridiculously long bangs covering the whole upper half of his face, Tsuki wasn't sure, but he somehow must've, for not even twenty seconds later, there was a soft click, signaling the prince's success.

'Ushishi.' Saying something about peasants being simpleminded, Belphegor got up, pushing the door open with his foot and letting himself in.

Tsuki stayed behind, suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that she was standing outside a shop Belphegor had just broken into. If anyone were to pass by about now...

'Oi peasant, you coming or do you plan on standing there till dawn?' The blonde asked rudely after a while, standing in the doorway of the little clothes shop and watching Tsuki with a certain air of annoyance.

Tsuki started. When had he come back out again?

'Er... o-okay...' Taking a quick look around her, the brunette cautiously made her way over to Belphegor, who'd already walked off again, and was now browsing through some striped shirts in the male section of the store.

Well, Tsuki privately thought a few moments after stepping foot into the building, no alarms seemed to be going off, so that, at least, was good.

The brunette momentarily wondered whether the blonde prince had actually chosen this shop on purpose, and not just some lucky guess or fluke. He _did_ after all boast about being a genius quite often, so it wasn't _entirely_ unlikely for him to have noticed there was no security system. She supposed that, as an assassin, he'd be entitled to know a thing or two about those kind of things anyway.

'You've got ten minutes peasant.' Bel's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts, making the brunette blink, not quite understanding what he was talking about. She had ten minutes to do _what_ exactly? 'The prince would quit stalling if he were you.'

'What do you-' The brunette froze, her cheeks instantly flushing red as she turned around to be met with none other than Belphegor, who was, unfortunately, in the process of changing.

She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice wasn't willing to cooperate at the moment, so she could only stare, her face turning redder and redder by the moment as her eyes wandered over his nicely toned abs.

Thank god it was as dark as it was.

Not seeming to even take note of the beet-red brunette staring at him, Belphegor simply kicked the vest he'd been wearing earlier aside, pulling on a red and black striped shirt he'd taken from somewhere inside the shop.

Tsuki quickly averted her eyes, trying to force herself to stop blushing, only succeeding in making it worse of course, when the blonde assassin's fine body flashed through her mind.

'W-what are you changing for? 'She finally managed to compose herself enough in order to speak, though she still couldn't face the man standing just a couple of feet away from her. The question made Belphegor look up, and, as she watched him from the corner of her eyes, Tsuki was pretty sure he was staring right back at her from under those long bangs of his.

'Are you dumb?'

Okay, maybe she should've expected that, Bel wasn't the kindest bloke around, after all. The word "kind" didn't probably even exist in his vocabulary...

'Remaining in those damn clothes would be a dead giveaway, peasant.' He declared, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And actually, now that she thought of it... it kind of was.

They were running from a rival mafia Family after all, they couldn't stay in that formal clothing they'd escaped in. But wouldn't in that case the blonde's hairstyle and tiara be kind of a giveaway as well?

Deciding not to question it, Tsuki nodded, her blush starting to die down again bit by bit. Thank god for that.

Hastily picking out an outfit, Tsuki turned back to the blonde still standing there, unmoving. She waited for a few seconds, but he didn't seem to get the clue.

'Er... B-Belphegor...' She started hesitantly, biting her lip as she looked at the blonde.

'What?' She wasn't sure if he was looking at her, but judging from the tone, it was definitely her he was talking to. The brunette took a deep breath before proceeding.

'C-could you... er, turn around...?'

He didn't answer for a moment, just watching the brunette fidget. Tsuki got a feeling he enjoyed making her uncomfortable for his own sadistic pleasure.

'Why?' The blunt question made Tsuki's face instantly turn tomato red again. 'It's not like the prince has never seen naked women before.'

'Wha- I- you- but-' The brunette spluttered incoherently, her face even redder now. Belphegor, being the pervert he was sniggered, and by the grin that suddenly appeared on his lips, Tsuki was a hundred percent certain that the words that were to come out of his mouth next, would make the situation even worse.

'And besides, you watched the prince get changed as well. Ushishi.'

If it was physically possible for Tsuki to get any redder, she'd have flushed in embarrassment. He knew?

It wasn't like she'd seen anything, but it was true that she'd been too mesmerized to pull her eyes away from the blonde Adonis while he changed into the casual clothes he was now wearing. Still, that didn't mean she wanted to repay him by letting the maniac see her in her underwear only. She'd die out of embarrassment.

'Ushishi. Can't blame you though, peasant, the prince is very handsome after all...'

Deciding not to comment on Belphegor's narcissistic comment, Tsuki opted to just look away, hoping the blonde assassin would find interest in something else and leave her alone. She _really_ didn't want to change in front of him.

Surprisingly, Bel simply "ushishi"ed, turning around and walking over to the cash register situated just around the corner. Apparently deciding that simply forcing it open with one of his knives would be easier than trying to pick the lock, the blonde proceeded and did exactly that.

Grabbing her chance, Tsuki quickly changed out of the expensive dress Lussuria had forced her to wear and put on a simple outfit consisting of jeans, a pink shirt she randomly picked out and a jacket.

'Ready peasant?' Belphegor asked, as he appeared from around the corner holding a small wad of cash and a few coins, quickly counting them.

'Yeah... er, what do I do with this?' Looking up from the money, the tiara-wearing assassin turned to Tsuki, who was holding up the dress Lussuria had made for him to see.

'Just hold it for now.' He said, pocketing the money and moving towards the shop's exit. 'Take the prince's suit too, peasant.'

Nodding, the brunette did as she was told, supposing that Belphegor knew what he was doing. Folding the clothes a bit, she moved over to the blonde, not failing to notice the peculiar-shaped knife stuck in the shop's doorway.

'Uh... not that I'm questioning you or anything... but wouldn't that knife over there kind of give us away...?' Tsuki asked as soon as she reached the self-proclaimed prince waiting for her outside.

He simply "ushishi"ed, taking the clothes Tsuki was holding and starting to walk away, the brunette following closely behind.

'The knife's a warning, ushishi, or more like a threat, actually.' He suddenly said, startling the young woman, who hadn't expected him to actually answer her question.

'Threat?' She didn't really like the sound of that. Belphegor nodded, taking a moment to straighten his tiara before going on.

'For the peasant to keep his mouth shut.' He simply told her, sniggering as he probably thought of all the things he could do to the poor shop owner if he let something slip. 'The Varia's pretty well known around here, even to peasants that aren't in the mafia.'

'Ah...'

'Ushishi... chances are that the Decimo peasant will compensate them afterwards anyway...' He sniggered, saying something about Tsuna being too generous towards useless peasants.

Reaching the nearest rubbish bin, Belphegor dumped his suit and Tsuki's dress inside, surprising the brunette.

'Wha-what'd you do that for...?' She asked, looking at the trash can wide-eyed. Lussuria would undoubtedly kill her if he found out his dress had been thrown in some random trash can in Sienna, just like common rubbish.

Who knew how much that thing had even cost him? Tsuki was sure as hell that her wage as a supermarket cashier in Venice wouldn't be enough to repay it. She'd probably been already fired too, with how long she hadn't shown up...

Throwing her what Tsuki supposed would be an irritated look were his eyes visible, Belphegor grabbed the brunette's arm and started pulling her away from the rubbish bin, the latter persistently going on with fretting about the dress he'd just thrown away.

'Oh for god's sake, shut up, would you!'

'But that dress wasn't even mine...!' Tsuki repeated for the umpteenth time, ignoring how aggregated Bel looked.

'Stop being ridiculous, woman! We're the Varia, who cares about a damn dress you lost? Boss has smashed and shot through more expensive things!'

'Be that as it may, but-'

The knife that suddenly appeared in his hand efficiently silenced Tsuki, she had no intention of being stabbed twice within twenty-four hours after all... scratch that, she had no intention of getting stabbed, period.

'Ushishi, now, lets go get breakfast, the prince is hungry.'

Having said that, the blonde continued pulling Tsuki down the streets. The sun had already risen, and some shops were starting to open, a couple of people even strolling around already.

The moment Tsuki sat down in the chair opposite of Belphegor, the brunette immediately felt all of the panic and irritation seep out of her, leaving her simply exhausted. Not having slept for a whole night had sure taken a toll on her.

'Is there something I can get you?' A cheerful waitress asked a few moments after they had settled down. Service was pretty fast since they were the only costumers beside an elderly man sitting at the other side of the cafe.

'Coffee.' The brunette mechanically answered. She didn't even care about the kind, cappuccino, latte, espresso... anything was fine, just as long as it was coffee.

As the girl turned to Belphegor though, both her and Tsuki couldn't help but gape at his order. Ice-cream. _Six freaking scoops of ice-cream_. At seven in the morning.

Hurriedly writing down all of the flavors the assassin prince wanted (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, pistachio, banana and coco nut), the girl, Emily, scurried off to get their orders ready.

'So, er... what exactly are we doing in Sienna...?' Tsuki finally asked when she was sure no one was within earshot. He _had_ after all promised to explain, even if it was only in order to get the brunette to shut up.

'Waiting.' If that had been the explanation she'd so long been waiting for, Tsuki would've been seriously pissed at the assassin, but luckily, he went on. 'The Decimo or Squalo will contact us when it's time. Ushishi, those Rossi peasants won't stand a chance.' The young woman sitting opposite him blinked.

'Huh?' Having realized the brunette wasn't following, Belphegor sniggered, pausing to let the waitress put down their orders before going on when she was out of hearing distance.

'It's a common trick, but all the peasants always step right into it.' He said, pushing some of his ice-cream (strawberry) on the spoon and eating it. 'You let them think they have the upper hand, lay low for a while and when they least expect it-'

'-you attack.' Tsuki ended, realization finally dawning on her. Belphegor nodded, taking a spoonful of his scoop of vanilla-flavored ice-cream and pushing it in his mouth.

'Ushishi. Not bad for a peasant.'

'Thanks... I guess...' Tsuki mumbled, though she wasn't all too sure if the prince had meant his comment to be a compliment or an insult.

Taking a sip of her coffee, the brunette stayed silent after that, not exactly sure of what to say.

After the blonde finished his ice-cream (all six of the scoops!), he pulled out the money he'd gotten out of the clothes store's cash register earlier, paying the waitress the required amount for their breakfast, if coffee and a huge ice-cream could even be called that.

All that remained now, Tsuki told herself as they left the cafe, was finding a place to stay...


	8. Note to self: Never trust Lussuria again

As Tsuki and Belphegor entered the hotel room they'd just checked themselves in, the brunette couldn't keep her eyes from widening at the sight she was met with.

The room was big and more luxurious than any other she'd ever been in (that is excluding the ones the seven core members of the Varia owned, of course), the walls were painted red, thin golden little designs adorning them.

The brunette looked around in awe, her eyes falling on several portraits that were lined along the wall, quickly averting her eyes though when she noticed the people being portrayed in them. They were all standing in... rather _peculiar_ positions.

Shaking it off, Tsuki turned to the bed. Oh yes. Big, king-sized and undoubtedly comfortable, with fluffy pillows and dreamy wonderfully soft-

Hold on.

_**The**_ bed? As in one?

Taking a look around her, the brunette felt all of her previous enthusiasm promptly seep out of her, rapidly being replaced by a feeling of dread as she realized that there was, indeed, just one bed.

Exchanging a quick look with Belphegor, who also seemed to have taken notice of the problem, both of them broke into a run simultaneously, rushing over to the bed situated in the middle of the room to claim it as their own.

It was no surprise to either of them when the blonde "prince" won the struggle, Tsuki would've most probably lost even if she hadn't been up against one of the mafia's most feared assassins.

So, after admitting her loss, which she instantly did (she had no intention of getting stabbed anytime soon, thank you very much), the brunette simply grabbed one of the pillows before Belphegor plopped down on the bed, sniggering as he watched her walk about the room trying to find herself some sheets and blankets.

It took the young woman about twenty minutes or so to put together her temporary "bed". It might not look like much (okay, it looked pretty crappy considering it was just a pillow and some bed covers thrown inside a bathtub), but hey, even that was better than nothing. And it would at least keep her warm... probably...

Nodding her head in approval as she stepped back to admire her artwork, Tsuki felt that she was now entitled to a few hours of well-deserved sleep.

Yawning, the brunette was out the moment her head touched the pillow

* * *

><p>By the time she woke up again, it was already nearing dusk, the sky having started to slowly turn into a beautiful shade orange as the sun set.<p>

Quite surprised by the fact she'd just slept seven whole hours in a bathtub without her back hurting _too_ horrendously, Tsuki sat up and stretched, carefully stepping out of her "bed" and taking a look around as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Belphegor was not awake yet, if his silence and the lack of knives flying around and hitting things was anything to go by (not that she actually got close enough to check), so the brunette assumed it'd be fine to do whatever she wanted until the blonde assassin _did _get up, an action which she was lead to regret not much time later.

The original plan had been to check out the room a bit since she hadn't gotten to do that when she first got there, too exhausted by the night-long trip the blonde assassin had forced her to make with him. Weighing her options, Tsuki decided to start with the bathroom though, since she already was there, as well as the fact that she was a complete klutz. She'd rather not have to face an annoyed Belphegor after having tripped over something, breaking it and making a huge ruckus, thus waking him up.

If there was one thing the young woman had learned about the assassin called Belphegor during her stay with the Varia up until now, it was that the blonde was not a morning person. In fact, he tended to throw a tantrum whenever he was woken up forcibly, the one responsible usually ending up in the infirmary for a month or two... or six feet under, if the self-proclaimed prince happened to be in a particularly bad mood.

The only known human to have ever escaped without a scratch was Fran, but then again, he'd never woken Belphegor up _himself_ either, seeing as he'd always send up an illusion of some sort to do the job. Needless to say, that later earned him half a dozen of knives to the frog hat he always wore.

So, deciding that she indeed did not want Belphegor to wake up, the brunette started moving around the bathroom a bit, not really interested in what she found besides the big mirror hanging over the sink.

She looked like a mess, she realized as she took a few moments to look at her reflection. Her brown hair was all frizzled up and the makeup Lussuria had so skillfully applied on her last night had gotten smeared across her face, and, now that she took the time to look back, all over her pillow as well.

Letting the tap water run, Tsuki proceeded to wash her face a bit, reaching out to the cupboard next to her blindly, looking for some soap she could use or something.

'Huh?' Whatever it was she touched however, she was certain it was not soap... but what else would you keep in a hotel bathroom? Taking hold of it, the brunette pulled the thing out, staring at it blankly for a good few seconds before the full realization of what she was actually holding kicked in.

A _condom_.

'Shit!' Cursing, the brunette promptly dropped it, backing off before quickly turning around again and kneeling down to look at what else was inside the cupboard.

More condoms... and all kinds of lotions and... oils. It couldn't be...

'Oh no, no no no... _He didn't_...' Rushing out of the bathroom, Tsuki ran over to the blonde assassin, who was still sleeping rather peacefully on the big comfortable bed. Well, not for long. 'Belphegor...!'

Starting to shake him awake (warnings given to her by Varia underlings be damned, this was _way_ too important), the brunette repeated his name until the "prince" started to finally stir. Tsuki wasn't even too affected by the knives flung at her in a barely-awake daze, having been expecting it and ducking to avoid them, patiently waiting for Belphegor to fully wake up.

Groaning, the blonde sat up, rubbing the eyes hidden underneath his long bangs before turning to Tsuki. The girl could not see it, but she could certainly _feel _it. He was glaring at her.

'What?' He demanded, his tone of voice making it clear he was _not_ happy to have his sleep disturbed. Tsuki didn't back down though, getting up and looking him right in the eye, or well, that's at least what she would have done, had his eyes been visible. As it was, she was just staring at his thick golden bangs.

'This hotel...' The brunette started.

'What about it?'

'Did you know?' Getting irritated, Bel scowled. As mentioned above, he was hardly a morning person (never mind the fact that it wasn't actually even morning any longer), and the fact the damn woman wasn't giving him a straight answer so they could get this over with, was only making it worse.

'Know what, peasant?' He snapped, using whatever little self-control he had in order not to get up and skewer the annoying brunette. 'Speak up already, would you? The prince would like to go back to sleep before dawn, if you don't mind.'

Not even feeling offended by the tone Belphegor had taken with her, Tsuki lost no time explaining. He had little patience on the best of days, being as grumpy as he currently was, it undoubtedly wouldn't take him long to snap and turn her into a "cactus", as he had a little too gleefully threatened just the night before.

'When you checked us in here, did you know that this was a love hotel?' The brown-haired girl asked, her eyes slightly narrowed as she awaited the blonde's answer.

Belphegor just scoffed, looking at Tsuki with a look that surely meant "is that all you woke me up for?" before opening his mouth to speak up.

'Lussuria recommended it, peasant. What did you expect?'

It took Tsuki a moment or two to go over his words again, her mouth dropping open a bit in realization. _Oh_...

She should've known, the brunette mentally told herself, as much as she liked the man, Lussuria often had the creepy habit of trying to play matchmaker between Bel and her, doing literally almost everything to get the two of them into awkward situations. The blonde assassin might've easily managed to laugh (snigger) them all off, but each and every one of the flamboyant man's failed attempts to make the accidentally married couple fall in love with each other (as if that would actually ever happen) had become very embarrassing memories to Tsuki.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, the brunette turned her attention back to the assassin in front of her, who was still glaring at her through his long bangs.

'If you don't have any more stupid questions to bother the prince with, peasant, he's going back to sleep.' Belphegor sneered, lying back down and pulling the covers over himself, leaving the brunette simply standing there.

'Uh... right, sorry.' Tsuki awkwardly said as something about annoying peasants was muttered under the blonde's breath before he turned his back to the brunette, presumably falling asleep again.

The girl just stood there for a moment, not exactly sure of what she was supposed to do, before she decided that it'd be best if she separated herself from the insane prince for a while, he might've been too tired to act right now, but Tsuki was certain she'd never hear the end of it once Belphegor was awake.

And besides, she mentally added, she was pretty hungry. She hadn't eaten anything since the party, after all...

Silently nodding to herself, Tsuki grabbed her jacket and was off.

* * *

><p>Damn it.<p>

Tsuki glowered at the glorious-looking chocolate covered cake on display in the small pastry shop she had just stumbled upon, her stomach giving a low growl as she just stood there, hands stuck inside her pockets, mentally cursing herself for being so stupid.

What kind of an idiot went out to buy food and forgot to bring money along?

Well, Tsuki apparently.

Still grumbling about her stupidity, the brunette turned around. She had just walked in the freezing December air for thirty minutes, just to find out that she had no money on her whatsoever. Of course, Belphegor had kept it all with him. She knew that, so why hadn't it occurred to her earlier?

The blonde assassin would surely laugh his grinning head off when he heard of this, undoubtedly repeating things about peasants being simpleminded. Just what she needed, another reason for the self-proclaimed prince to bug her.

Luck really couldn't ever be on her side for even once, could it?

She supposed though, that, if this went on for long, she might not have to endure Belphegor's taunts after all, she'd be turned into an ice cube before she managed to even reach the hotel. Tsuki was pretty sure that there wouldn't be much fun in teasing a human-sized ice cube... but with Bel around, you never really knew anyway.

Shaking her head, Tsuki pushed the thoughts out of her mind, she'd deal with Belphegor and the humiliation he was surely going to cause her (for he was undoubtedly not going to let it slide after her having awoken him earlier that day, payback was a bitch, after all) when she'd absolutely have to. Namely, when she saw him again.

Nodding to herself, Tsuki quickened her pace, letting out a soft groan as she noticed it had started hailing. Just great.

If anyone had told her she'd be looking forward to reaching a love hotel a few days ago, the brunette would've called them crazy... but as things were now, it was the embarrassing truth. Tsuki was most relieved to see the windowless building Lussuria had recommended they stay at and she couldn't describe the feeling of pure bliss she felt when she stepped inside and was greeted by a warm gust of wind.

Ah, the joy of technology. She loved air conditions, especially when they were set to produce warmth.

The feeling of momentary euphoria was, however, promptly forgotten as Tsuki took a look around her. There were more people walking around now, the majority of women dressed in horribly revealing outfits as the men accompanying them swaggered about, definitely having had more than just a couple of shots.

How long had she been out...? The halls had been pretty, if not completely, deserted when she'd left earlier...

Urging herself to get a move on and hurry up , the brunette started to quickly go up the stairs. Between drunk strangers, hookers and a homicidal lunatic (that might or might not be plotting her death at this very moment), she'd take the homicidal lunatic, thank you very much.

As she hurried to get back to the room Belphegor and she shared (she was all but running, avoiding to look at her surroundings in fear of being mentally scarred for eternity, the sounds were more than enough to know what was going on in the very same hallway she had to walk down to get to her destination, after all), Tsuki found herself cursing Lussuria.

Whatever good thing she'd ever said or thought of him, the brunette was now taking it back. It was all his fault that she had to go through this.

'Ah, I'm sorry.' Tsuki hurriedly muttered as she bumped into someone, not bothering to even look up as she tried to quickly make a big circle around him and get to her room. Unfortunately, whoever the man was, he had no intention of letting her do so. He grabbed the brunette's arm, forcing her to come to a stop and look at him.

The woman that was practically glued to his chest giggled, obviously too intoxicated to do much else. Both of them were drunk, that much was obvious just by the reek of alcohol and the glazed look in their eyes, the Japanese woman paused to momentarily wonder if she'd been like that as well when she agreed to marry Belphegor, a bit over a month ago. No, Tsuki concluded, to do something as idiotic as that, she had undoubtedly have to had been a hundred times worse.

Taking her mind off her accidental husband though, the brunette turned to the more pressing matter at hand, namely, the man that was still holding her wrist.

'Er... could you let go... please?'

Well, it could never hurt to ask, could it? Even if it was utterly useless in the end.

'You seem pretty lonely, señorita.' The man slurred out, only succeeding in confirming the brunette's suspicions. Yep, definitely drunk.

'Lonely? Haha, no, not at all, now, if you'd please-'

'Don't be like that, how about you join us tonight?' Okay, this was surpassing simply "bad", Tsuki thought, starting to panic as she tried to pull her hand free, even though she knew it was futile. She was completely drained of energy after her walk in town. 'We'll make sure to make it the best one you've ever had, right Marcy?'

The woman, now dubbed Marcy, giggled, nodded and mumbled something that sounded like "sure baby", but with how slurred her speech was, Tsuki couldn't be sure.

'See? So, what do you say, señorita? You in for the hottest threesome you'll ever get to experience?' At that Tsuki's face promptly turned beet red, her eyes widening.

'Th-threesome?' She squeaked out, sounding quite frightened by the idea alone as she tried to back off. She most certainly did _not_ want that.

'Come on, we'll make sure you enjoy it.'

Oh dear god. If she lived through this, she was never, _ever_, talking to Lussuria again.

Just as she was about to scream bloody murder, a flash of silver passed by her, burying itself in the hand holding onto her wrist, making the man cry out in pain as he let go off her, staring at his bleeding hand in horror.

That knife...

'Hands off the prince's peasant, peasant.'

'Belphegor...!' Tsuki breathed out in relief as she turned around to see the blonde assassin walking over to them, emitting a deadly aura as he glared at the man that had once been trying to force Tsuki into a threesome. He was now backing off rapidly, horror written all over his features as Bel came closer.

The blonde known as Prince The Ripper lazily swung another half a dozen of knives at him, not really aiming as he'd already lost interest in him and the woman, turning to Tsuki instead. Most of the blades still hit him though, just not in places where the wound it caused could be fatal.

'Che, stupid peasant.' He muttered before turning his gaze to the brown-haired woman standing in front of him. 'And you, learn to stand up for yourself a bit, would you? It'd be troublesome for the prince if he had to come and chase the peasants away each time they want to get laid.'

'Wha- I- you- this-' Tsuki stuttered incoherently for a moment, quite abashed by the sheer blunt rudeness of the blonde. Though really, she should've expected it, it was just how he was.

'Here,' The blonde started as he turned around to leave 'the prince orders you to keep this with you in case something like this happens again.' With that, Belphegor threw something over his shoulder, which, for once, Tsuki actually managed to catch in mid-air.

'Ah... this is...'

Turning around the weird-shaped silver knife in her palm, Tsuki ran her finger along the neat letters delved into the back of the blade, V_aria_. But why had he-

_'Hands of the prince**'s**_ _peasant, peasant.'_

Looking up at the assassin making his way down the hall, Tsuki stared at his retreating back. No, it couldn't be. She'd probably heard wrong.

Taking a quick look around her, the brunette quickly hurried off after Belphegor.


	9. Doughnuts

'Thank you.' Tsuki told the brown-haired cashier, giving him a small and tired smile as she motioned him to keep the change, at the same time taking the plastic bag being handed to her and turning around to leave the shop.

The brunette pulled her coat closer to her body, bracing herself for the cold she'd have to face as soon as she stepped outside. True to what she'd always been hearing about winter months in Europe, the outside temperature was most painfully cold. There might not be snow, but that certainly did not mean you didn't risk freezing to death each time you left your house. Tsuki was pretty sure that if she were to look down right then, she'd find her fingers turning blue.

Damn the blonde assassin called Belphegor. He and his stupid, utterly illogical demands.

As if having stayed up nearly all night long listening to groans, moans and cries of pleasure coming from the room next to theirs wasn't enough, the self-proclaimed prince simply _had_ to wake her up just about when she'd finally started dozing off and send her out to get him doughnuts, which he randomly decided he wanted to eat that morning.

Really, the blonde prince was way too used to getting things his way... He was rather like a spoiled child in that sense. And a really annoying one at that.

Sighing, the brunette shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she should just concentrate on getting back to the hotel for now, Belphegor would undoubtedly throw a tantrum if she wasn't back soon, after all.

Besides, she was pretty hungry as well, the faster she got to the assassin prince waiting for her back in their hotel room, the faster she could eat . Nodding to herself, Tsuki quickened her pace, now fueled by the desire to eat the chocolate covered breakfast she was carrying with her.

Ah, chocolate...

'Belphegor?' Tsuki called out as she entered the room, shaking her coat off as she took a look around. The room was empty for a change, no grinning Belphegor sitting on the bed or couch and sniggering as he watched her.

The sound of water running could be heard instead, as well as what sounded like... singing...

_'Bloody Bel, the prince's magnificence, knife and wire judgment, rise up the screams, continue to rampage, light up the game, the melody to the crazy death'_

The twisted lyrics aside (what else would you expect from a person like Belphegor anyway?), it was a surprisingly good singing voice, Tsuki realized, putting the doughnuts down on the bed and rubbing her hands together in an attempt to warm herself up.

_'Bloody hell, bloody heaven, bloody Bel'_

Quite a good voice indeed.

Despite herself, the brunette couldn't help but be drawn in by the blonde's singing voice, had he not been an insane, bloodthirsty lunatic of an assassin, Tsuki was sure that Belphegor could've easily made his life as a singer. With those looks of his (for it was futile to try and deny that Belphegor was more than simply good-looking), his female fans would surely escalate faster than his victims ran when they were being chased by the insane assassin and self-proclaimed prince.

Yes, someone like Belphegor would undoubtedly have success in the show biz.

Tsuki sighed, now there's something she wouldn't mind, waking up married to a pop star instead of a blood-obsessed lunatic that called himself a prince... but of course, no such luck.

Unfortunately, both for her and the rest of the world, the man she had gotten herself married to in a drunken daze, was a feared mafia assassin that seemed to want to chop up everyone around him. Tsuki shivered, finding herself wondering about the same question that had been swirling around her mind ever since she'd been forced to start living in the Varia headquarters.

How drunk exactly had she been for the danger bells not to go off? Usually, she'd have been able to tell Belphegor was trouble from meters away... well, then again, perhaps her self-preservation mechanism was just faulty when it came to men... she'd misjudged Diego too, after all.

'Peasant?' A voice broke through her thoughts and Tsuki blinked once before gasping at the blonde standing in front of her backing off only to trip over the couch and fall down on her back, when the heck had he gotten out of the shower?

'Be-Belphegor...?' The brunette choked out, her eyes wide.

'Ushishi, did the prince startle the peasant?' The blonde sniggered, plopping down on the couch and grabbing the box with doughnuts. 'You seemed to be lost in a daze for a while there, didn't even blink when the prince came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel...'

Tsuki instantly felt her face heat up, Belphegor's obviously amused "ushishi"s just making matters worse. She stuttered for a while, spluttering to find the right words to say, but nothing coherent came out, so Tsuki simply decided to shut it and seat herself as far away as possible from the grinning blonde while still being in her breakfast's reach.

They ate in silence for the most part, only Belphegor's sniggers being heard as they just sat there, chewing on their breakfast. As expected, the doughnuts were truly mouthwatering, and with her time of the month almost being there again, Tsuki had to stop herself from moaning in satisfaction as she devoured the chocolate-covered snack. God knew what Belphegor's perverted mind would think of it if that were to happen. It would undoubtedly turn her day into just another embarrassing memory she'd be unable to get rid of.

Thanks, but no thanks. She'd rather not have this moment ruined by the assassin prince's perverted humor.

Nodding to herself, Tsuki proceeded to eat the remainder of her breakfast normally.

'Oi, peasant.'

'Huh?' Looking up, the brunette gave him a questioning look.

'How come you knew Decimo anyway? I thought you said you weren't associated with the mafia in any way...'

'Ah, er, Sawada?' Tsuki murmured, careful not to accidentally use "Dame-Tsuna", which was how she'd always referred to her brown-haired classmate as. Even if the Varia didn't seem to like him, the brunette would rather not slip up and call their boss with a degrading nickname that she was sure no one had ever used after high school.

Belphegor nodded, leaning back into the couch now that he was done eating, lifting his feet onto the table and folding his arms behind his head. Tsuki knew his eyes were focused on her though.

'Um, he was a classmate of mine... Yamamoto and Gokudera-san too...' She answered truthfully, seeing no reason to lie. He'd most probably be able to tell anyway.

'So you used to live in Namimori, or something?'

'Ah, er, yeah. I'm originally from Japan... but I guess you already knew that, since Aohana Tsukiko hardly sounds Italian...' Belphegor snorted, then nodded, undoubtedly telling her to go on. 'So yeah, I never really talked to any of them though...'

'And you never knew about him being a mafia boss?'

'No... though I guess some pretty weird stuff started happening about the time Gokudera-san transferred...' Tsuki said sceptically, addressing herself more rather than Bel at the moment. Probably deciding he wanted to hear whatever information she had to offer, the blonde assassin didn't comment on it, letting the young woman go on. 'We'd been a pretty oblivious bunch, I suppose. It wasn't normal for Sawada to skip, but he did quite a few times during high school... and there was also something about... sumo matches... or so a classmate of mine seemed to claim when they came back hurt...'

Belphegor raised an eyebrow at the sumo matches mentioned, but decided not to say anything of it and turn the topic's focus to something else.

'Ushishi, so how did the peasant end up in Italy?'

'I came to study here after I was done with school...' Tsuki simply responded, making herself comfortable as well now that she was done with eating. 'Stayed a little longer that initially intended.'

'Ushishi. So the peasant has a boyfriend?'

Tsuki turned an interesting shade of red as she spun around to face the grinning assassin sitting next to her.

'Wh-what are you talking about? I- I don't-'

'Ushishi.' That snigger told her everything she needed to know, he didn't believe it. 'And why would you stay behind if not some peasant you met? Ushishi, surely not the _sights_.'

'I- I just-' Taking a deep breath, Tsuki composed herself, losing her cool would do no good, especially not around Belphegor. 'We broke up.' She explained, only causing Bel to snigger again.

'So you tried to get over it by drinking, ushishi.'

It wasn't even a question, it was a statement. Belphegor was sure of his assumption. Was she really _that_ easy to read?

However, for the sake of keeping her dignity-

'N-no...! Of course not...!' The brunette protested, the color that flooded onto her face instantly giving her away. Belphegor just "ushishi"ed but didn't try to broach the subject any further, something Tsuki was really grateful for.

* * *

><p>'Huh, so they weren't here either...' The black-haired teenager sighed as he and his brown-haired friend exited the hotel they'd just been in, looking pretty bored as they made their way down the pavement, hands stuck inside their pockets. The latter just shrugged, taking a map out and unfolding it as they walked on. 'And it was the last hotel in town as well...'<p>

'Oh quit complaining.' The brown-haired teen, who also appeared to be the youngest of the two, snapped. 'They can't have wandered off too far...'

Staying silent for a few moments, the boy walking next to him nodded.

'I suppose...' He finally said. 'So, where are we going next, senpai? Volterra? Arezzo? Cortona?'

'Sienna.'


	10. Enough is enough

_'KYYYYAAAAH!'_

The scream echoed through the love hotel, jolting Bel awake.

It was 6:30 in the morning, and, for some unfathomable reason to the blonde prince, he was just awoken by Tsukiko's screams of utter terror. The assassin known as Prince The Ripper jumped up, half a dozen of knives appearing in his hands as if by magic as he ran over to the bathroom, not caring that he practically unhinged the door as he kicked it open.

'Belphegor...!' The brunette gasped, her teary eyes snapping to the tiara-wearing male standing in the doorway. 'Thank god!'

Belphegor took a look around, slowly observing his completely empty surroundings, an irritated scowl appearing on his face. By the way the young woman had just been screaming like a bloody banshee, you'd think she was being murdered or something.

But no one aside from the two of them was in the room.

'Peasant...' He started after a while, resisting his urge to chuck the knives he was holding at Tsuki and kill her for waking him up for no reason at all. 'What the _hell_ are you doing?'

Tsuki whimpered as she looked down at Belphegor from her position above the bath, hanging from the shower curtain she'd somehow managed to climb onto.

'Never mind that!' She squeaked out, attempting to climb further up the shower curtain, her eyes scanning the room frantically for something, though what, the genius assassin had no idea. She suddenly let out another cry of fear, her eyes widening as she pulled her feet further up. 'Oh god! Belphegor, kill it! Do something! It's coming this way! Kill it! Kill it!'

'Eh?' Following her gaze rather lazily, Belphegor scanned the bathroom's floor, his eyes falling onto the cause of the brunette's distress before long. 'A cockroach?' He questioned, rather unimpressed by the insect making its way across the tiles.

'What are you waiting for? Kill it!' Tsuki cried, completely hysteric by now, she wasn't even bothering to stop herself from crying anymore. 'Oh god, oh shit, it's coming this way! Belphegor!'

The "prince", however, was less alarmed by the creature hurrying over to them, preferring to level a glare at the brown-haired woman instead. Not that she saw it, aside from his eyes being hidden from view, she was too busy panicking over the cockroach.

'You woke the prince up for a stupid bug?' He asked, his irritation clearly showing now.

His tone of voice actually made Tsuki turn to him, but the bug in question was all but forgotten.

'I'm sorry, alright?' She cried out, her eyes moving back to the cockroach instantly, its closeness to her making the brunette whimper again, how had it moved that fast? 'Just do something, kill that monster!'

Belphegor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

'Monster?' He asked, a grin slowly finding its way to his lips. He apparently found this situation _very_ amusing.

'Belphegor,_ please_!' Tsuki yelled in desperation.

Chuckling, the self-proclaimed prince decided to finally do something nice for his accidental bride and, lifting his hands, threw the knives he was holding at the insect on the floor. They all hit the target and, as expected, the cockroach stopped moving.

Slowly and carefully sliding down the shower curtain, Tsuki refused to leave the bath as she stared at the bug that was now crushed underneath Belphegor's knives.

'Is it dead?' She finally whispered, causing Bel to give her a "really?" look.

'Oh, I don't know peasant.' He drawled out, the sarcasm practically dripping off the assassin prince's words. 'It's got five knives stuck through its back, what do you think?'

Deciding to keep her mouth shut and not comment on the blonde's rudeness, Tsuki simply remained silent.

'If that's all, the prince is going back to sleep.' Belphegor announced, yawning into his hand before turning around to leave the brunette to her own devices. He stopped, however, as he remembered something. 'Wash the prince's knives off before you return them, peasant.'

Having said that, the tiara-wearing assassin was off, undoubtedly to catch up to the sleep he'd lost while dealing with the insect that was now left lying dead in the bathroom.

Making a big circle around it, Tsuki decided to simply deal with the cockroach later. Taking all of her pillows, sheets and blankets out of the bath, she placed them in the sink, proceeding to take a shower and change into some clothes Belphegor had "borrowed" from a shop last night seeing as they both were in dire need of a change. They didn't know how long they'd be staying there after all, so they could hardly go on washing and wearing the same clothes over and over again.

Thankfully, the attire the assassin prince picked out this time was acceptable, unlike the first time he went to get them new clothes, she had to walk around for three whole days looking like a hooker. By the end of the third, Belphegor grew tired of her complaints and went out to get her another set of clothes.

A pair of jeans, a striped shirt (why he had such an obsession with stripes, Tsuki could still not understand) and a jacket to wear with it. Pretty simple, but it suited her tastes just fine.

Belphegor didn't wake up again until it was well past eleven, being in a considerably lighter mood than he'd been a few hours ago. The fact that Tsuki had actually listened to him and cleaned the knives while he was asleep (unlike a certain green-haired illusionist he knew), got him into an even better mood. Tsuki found hanging out with him almost enjoyable that morning.

They went out for breakfast after Belphegor had a quick shower and wore his new change of clothes, black jeans and a green and black striped shirt. It occurred to Tsuki some time later (making her blush immensely), that had Belphegor gotten her the exact same shirt she was wearing in green, they'd be matching.

Not that the prince noticed this, he was too busy ordering a _huge_ ice-cream. Honestly, just what was it with him and ice-cream? With all the amount of it he devoured daily, Tsuki found herself wondering just how his teeth hadn't become rotten by now.

'Ushishi, because I'm a prince.' Was the only answer Tsuki got when she questioned him. Though, really, she'd been half-expecting it, it was the same answer Tsuki got each time she asked the blonde assassin anything.

'That makes no sense at all...' She murmured, taking a sip from her coffee, only causing the prince to snigger again as he grinned widely.

'The prince has got something to do later.' Belphegor suddenly announced, making the brunette sitting opposite of him raise an eyebrow. 'Are you going to tag along or wait here?'

'Er...' Tsuki paused for a moment, knowing that Belphegor would most likely try to get in touch with the other members of the Varia, something which, she had come to realize, was apparently not easy because of everyone's expertize at hiding their tracks.

Usually Squalo would just call everyone to keep them up-to-date with what was going on (that was originally supposed to be Xanxus' job, but the scarred man apparently never actually bothered), but due to certain circumstances (aka Xanxus having chucked the man's cellphone at him in a fit of rage and smashing it), the shark of Varia could not contact them.

It would seem like Xanxus had his phone turned off, Lussuria's had gotten destroyed during the fight at the Varia castle, Mammon had refused to spend any money on a cell phone in the first place and Belphegor had stabbed a knife through Fran's when his kohai hadn't stopped bugging him one day.

Then there was Levi of course, but Bel refused to call him even if his life was dependent on it.

So that left them in quite a predicament, as they had no one to call.

'Um, I think I'll stay here.' Tsuki finally said. Belphegor nodded.

He got up shortly after, digging his hand in his pocket and looking for something. When it emerged again, he was holding a few paper bills which he put down on the table, telling Tsuki to take care of the receipt.

The brunette had the time to nod before the blonde assassin prince was off again, leaving her alone.

Tsuki drank the remainder of her coffee in silence, watching a group of kids playing something that looked like tag right outside the window for a while. It was quite amusing, and it reminded the brunette of her own childhood, back when things had been simple.

No mafia, no insane assassins and no blood-thirsty lunatic princes.

Yes, it had been quite nice...

After finishing her coffee (she'd become quite fond of the espresso they made there, it was truly very good), Tsuki paid for her and Bel's breakfasts, deciding to just wander around the

town a bit and see if she found anything interesting to do.

There was an ice-skating rink located on the square, or so she'd at least heard, but Tsuki didn't particularly feel like going on there and making a fool of herself today. She had enough memories of such things happening during her high school days, after all.

Somehow, Tsuki had no idea how, but somehow, she _always_ managed to lose her footing and fall in some truly spectacular way that would have everyone around her laughing for weeks.

Not to mention, she always ended up sick after ice-skating. Probably from walking around in wet clothes after having fallen on the ice so many times...

So Tsuki preferred to leave ice-skating to those that could actually manage it, deciding to instead go check out the bookstore she'd discovered just the previous morning while being out to get something for Belphegor again.

Entering the bookstore, the brunette was relieved to be met by a warm gust of air, rubbing her hands together as she looked around a bit, her attention immediately being captured by the romance novels.

Tsuki had always been a romantic person by nature, the hours she'd spent huddled up in her sofa, cocooned in a thick layer of blankets as she read romantic tragedies were too many to count. It had always been one of her favorite pastimes.

Unfortunately, try as she might, she hadn't been able to spot any romantic novels within the Varia castle walls. Lussuria said he'd had many of them at one point, but Mammon had tricked him into giving them to her, leading to all of the boxer's romance novels being auctioned off.

He didn't buy any new ones after that. A pity, really, one of Tsuki's favorite things to do at the Varia headquarters had been talking about the best romantic tragedies out there as they prepared dinner. She and the Varia's flamboyant sun guardian had a lot in common when it came to that.

Kneeling down to take a look at the many different book tittles, Tsuki looked for any new novels by some of her favorite authors. She occasionally took one off the shelf to read its summary before putting it back.

She didn't have any money with her (aside from her breakfast's change that is, but that wasn't even anywhere _close_ to the amount she needed to purchase a book), so Tsuki simply took care to memorize the tittles of interesting-sounding books instead.

So far, there were two she was really interested in reading, she doubted any of the Varia members would be kind enough to buy them for her, but Lussuria would perhaps be interested and buy them for himself. He most probably wouldn't mind Tsuki borrowing the books for a while so she could read them too.

Yeah, that would be nice...

The brunette had been about to pull another book off the shelf and read its summary when the bell at the front door _chinged, _indicating the arrival of a new customer. Or not.

Whoever had just entered was causing quite a commotion, Tsuki could hear the shop owner telling the person to calm down as something that sounded like glass shattering echoed through the shop.

Letting curiosity get the best of her, Tsuki left the isle she'd been standing in for the past forty minutes or so, book still held in her hands as she peeked from around the corner.

'Belphegor...?' She asked as her eyes fell on a blonde head. She was certain it really was Belphegor because the man was wearing the exact same shirt as Bel had been that morning.

And sure enough, as he turned to face her, the silver tiara gleaming proudly on top of his head, confirmed her suspicions.

'What are you doing here...?'

'What am _I_ doing here?' The assassin sneered. 'The prince could ask you the same question, peasant.' Tsuki flinched at the coolness of his voice. He might've been rude to her on a daily basis, but he'd never used that tone with her.

'Did-did something happen?' She questioned, taking a few steps towards the self-proclaimed prince, her hands still holding onto the romance novel whose summary she had yet to read.

If anything, that question just seemed to tick him off even further.

'_Did something happen?_ No, nothing happened. The prince just spent half an hour of his life looking for your petty little ass, that's what happened.'

'Excuse me?' Tsuki could only gape at Belphegor. What had brought this on?

'What part of _wait here_ don't you understand, peasant?'

'Wait- what are you talking about?'

Belphegor emitted a sound that sounded very much like a growl, grabbing Tsuki's arm and starting to drag her out of the bookstore. In her surprise, the brunette dropped her book, letting herself be pulled away.

'Be-Belphegor...! Cut it out, you're hurting me...!' The blonde ignored her, just tugging harder. 'I still don't get what you're so upset about.'

Turning to glare at her, Belphegor sighed in irritation.

'Before he left, the prince specifically asked you whether you'd _come with him _or_ stay there_.' He growled out, and Tsuki nodded.

'Yes, and I told you I'd wait...'

'Exactly peasant, and did you do that, or did you just wander off?'

'Well...' Tsuki paused. 'I supposed it'd be alright... I mean, it was just a block away from the cafe...'

'Well it isn't alright.' The blonde growled and, under those bangs, Tsuki was sure Belphegor was glaring daggers at her. 'Did it ever occur to you that you're on the run with a wanted _assassin_? Or are you too stupid to understand that?'

'I-' The brunette started, not exactly sure what to say. His words might make sense, but she couldn't help but be affronted by the way he was talking to her. And at the moment, that feeling was much more overwhelming than her logical side that guiltily admitted he was right to some extent. 'How the heck was I supposed to know what was going through your head when you said "wait here"? I'm human, I don't read minds! It's your fault for not specifying it!'

'Oh yeah, blame it on the prince now.' The blonde sneered. 'And the prince didn't think he needed to specify something as _simple_! It's called common sense, peasant!'

'Well I'm sorry if I'm not accustomed to your mafia ways! I never wanted part in any of this to begin with!'

They were now openly screaming at each other, their voices echoing down the empty streets. Had there been people wandering around that part of the town, they'd surely have turned to look at them. But it seemed like everyone had retreated in fear of the thunderstorm that would undoubtedly break out any moment now.

'Well, tough luck!' The blonde prince hissed, and Tsuki knew that it wouldn't take much longer for him to snap. 'You're just one of the other thousands of people that are here against their will! And don't make it sound like it's the prince's fault you glued to him like a fucking leech, wailing about your boyfriend having fucked some random bitch behind your back!'

Tsuki's eyes widened as she abruptly came to a stop, staring at the blonde assassin in surprise mixed with disbelief. How did he know _that_? She was certain she had not mentioned the reason why she and Diego broke up.

'Wha- I-' Opening and closing her mouth a few times, rather like a fish, Tsuki finally looked up at the blonde "prince" standing in front of her, still holding her arm in a painful grip. Her eyes narrowed. 'Let go off me.' She demanded, her voice low, but firm.

Belphegor just scowled at her, not loosening his grip on the brunette.

'I said, let go off me.' She repeated, a bit louder this time. 'Now. I've had it with you and your stupid selfish demands, I've had it with your rudeness and your perversion and your sheer arrogance! _Let go off me!_'

The blonde actually looked surprised for a moment, he probably had never had anyone yell right at his face before (more because of their fear of being brutally murdered rather than anything else), but Tsuki, in a fit of annoyance and pure rage, did, and it was enough to stun him to silence.

Using that opportunity, the brunette pulled her arm free of the ripper prince's grasp, turned around and stomped off.


	11. In the rain

The sheer adrenaline she'd gotten from blowing up at Belphegor kept the brunette going for quite a while, stomping down the unknown streets of Italy, just thinking of putting as much distance as possible between her and the tiara-wearing blonde.

It was, however, as that adrenaline slowly started to fade, that it really began to dawn on Tsuki just how stupid her actions had been. Sure, it had felt good, it had felt _bloody fantastic_ actually, but, as she stopped to lean against a wall and catch her breath, the young woman had to admit it had been one of the stupidest things she'd ever done. For many reasons.

She couldn't pinpoint her current location, for one. Not one of the buildings surrounding her striked the brunette even as even slightly familiar. And even if she _did_ manage to, by some miracle, find her way back, Belphegor would most certainly be beyond furious at her actions.

Honestly, in what universe was yelling at one of the mafia's most feared assassins considered a _smart_ move?

Certainly not in hers.

Sighing, the brunette pulled her coat closer to her body as she tilted her head up to look at the dark sky. A loud rumbling sound filled the air, black clouds obscuring any sun there might've been out there.

'Great.' Tsuki groaned, reaching out her hand to see if there were any raindrops falling yet. The last thing she needed right now, was to be stuck in a rainstorm.

Torn between the only two available options she could think of at the moment (either wait there and hope someone would come to her rescue or start wandering and risk getting even more lost), the brunette opted to go with the latter.

It was, after all, highly unlikely that Belphegor would choose looking for her in the pouring (not to mention, freezing) rain over getting back to the hotel and letting Tsuki fend for herself.

As always, when you wanted something done, you had to do it on your own.

Pulling her coat's hood over her head, the brunette stepped out of her hiding place and took a look around her before starting to wander in the general direction she knew she'd come from.

The small pitter-patter of raindrops rapidly turned into a full blown rainstorm, thunder rumbling loudly above her head as lighting struck not too far away from where Tsuki was currently walking.

There had been a time, as a small child, that Tsuki had enjoyed the rain. When she'd been younger, she'd always sneak out from her bedroom window on rainy days and climb down from the tree that conveniently just was there. She'd run around, splashing in puddles and generally causing havoc around the backyard until her parents found out and dragged her back inside.

But even as she grew older and stopped jumping in puddles and whatnot, the brunette had always felt a connection to the raindrops rolling down her window as she sat on her bed, reading one of her countless romance novels, cocooned within a warm blanket.

It wasn't something she could explain. She just liked it, during rainy days Tsuki felt like all her troubles just left her for a while, as if the rain just washed them all away...

However, as she walked down the paved Italian streets that particular afternoon, the rain falling down all over and around her, didn't have the effect it always used to. If anything, it just made Tsuki feel grumpier.

She was soaking wet, her feet had gone numb from being cold (she just _had _to step right into that one big puddle a few blocks back) and she felt like she was going to freeze to death.

The brunette did no longer care whether Bel would skewer, disembowel or plainly kill her when he saw her again, all that was running through her mind at the moment, was getting back to the hotel.

Unfortunately though, as luck would have it, her plan to wander around the streets in hopes of miraculously finding her way back, wasn't going all that well. All she'd succeeded in until now, was getting even more hopelessly lost than she already was. And it didn't take a genius to figure out that wasn't a good thing.

Even if Belphegor had decided, for some unfathomable reason, to go out and search for her (which was just as likely as Xanxus secretly being a ballet dancer), it'd take nothing short of a miracle for the blonde to end up in whatever place it was she'd gotten herself lost in.

The rain wasn't helping much either, seeing as, other than Tsuki being cold and wet, her visibility was now limited to just a few meters' radius.

Sighing the brunette took a look around her for any sign of life, but, just as all the other times she'd done so, found nothing. It would seem like everybody had retreated to the warm and dry safety of their homes by now, and Tsuki couldn't really blame them. The only problem was that she couldn't possibly get directions without anyone being around.

Scanning her surroundings some more, Tsuki gave up. The place was completely empty, she was the only idiot walking around there and freezing her ass off.

She should've just kept her mouth shut and let Belphegor rant all he wanted. At least, she'd be inside their hotel room now, safe from this darned weather she was forced to go through.

Belphegor would undoubtedly find it absolutely hilarious when (or rather, _if_) she (ever) came back, looking like a thoroughly soaked cat.

Yeah, the lunatic would laugh his grinning head off. That is, if he hadn't already murdered her for all the things she yelled at him earlier that day.

Groaning in frustration, the young woman shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she _really_ didn't want to be forced to think about the blonde assassin at the moment.

Tsuki sighed, her facial features starting to settle into a frown. The brunette was getting tired of walking... it was hopeless, she was still as lost as she was half an hour ago, or two hours ago, for that matter... maybe even three. There just wasn't an end to the unknown buildings, streets and shops. It was quite honestly depressing.

Letting her eyes wander around the street, Tsuki paused for a moment as she caught sight of something.

Was that-

Yes! It was unmistakeably a human silhouette! Hallelujah!

A small smile appearing on her lips, the brunette hurried over to the figures walking just a few meters away from her, laughing rather loudly at something one of them had said. Reaching out, Tsuki tried to catch their attention.

'Excuse me...!' She called out, raising her voice above their laughter as well as the horrible storm, hoping that at least _one_ person would hear her.

And they did indeed hear her, for the next moment, the one that had been falling back

(and was thus closest to her), turned to look at Tsuki, pausing for a moment before elbowing the guy next to him and nodding at the soaked brunette half-walking half-running towards them.

They exchanged a look before turning back to the other two guys, who were still walking, unaware of the fact that half of their little gang had stopped following them.

'Oi, Roberto!' The shorter of the two called out, attracting the rest of his mates' attention as well. The men stopped, looking back at the two that had fallen behind earlier and had now stopped moving altogether. It took them less than a second to spot the extra figure.

'Oh? What do we have here? ' The tallest of the men asked as he turned around completely, his eyes focused on Tsuki. 'Are you lost, young lady?' He inquired.

The brunette didn't miss the grin that had slowly but surely started to make its way onto his lips, it might be nowhere near as intimidating as Bel's was (she quite honestly didn't believe there was anyone on this Earth that could manage that), but that didn't mean it wasn't capable of sending chills down her spine.

The alarm bells in the back of her head were going off.

* * *

><p>A very dark aura surrounded the blonde assassin as he made his way down the street, drenched in rainwater from head to toe.<p>

The Cheshire cat grin that he usually wore was gone, replaced by a deep scowl as he glared at anything and everything around him, his eyes scanning his surroundings for a certain brown-haired peasant, the killing intent practically leaking off him.

To say Belphegor was angry, would be the understatement of the century. Because Belphegor wasn't simply angry, he was bloody _pissed._

He had been walking in this shitty weather for hours, _hours_, and he had yet to find that damn peasant. When he found her, Bel vowed, he was going to murder her.

He was a prince after all, he shouldn't be the one getting soaked just to find one single peasant, if anything, she should be the one to come back to him, begging for forgiveness.

And if it wasn't for that teeny weeny little part in his rotten black heart that, dare he say it, was _worried_ about the brunette called Tsuki, he probably would've retreated back to the hotel and let the peasant fend for herself.

Damn that stupid woman, to reduce him to the level of a common peasant. What the hell had she done to him?

Before the arrival of the brown-haired woman, he'd had a perfect grip over his actions and emotions, his comrades might've died right in front of his eyes and he'd have laughed in pure glee, but now, with her, that wasn't the case.

Prince Belphegor kept surprising himself with the things she made him do and, most of all, the things she made him _feel_.

For the first time in his life, the blonde assassin was at pure loss of what to do.

It had all started out innocently enough, after all. The peasant amused him, she was so easy to irritate and an open book when it came to her emotions, she was a creature way too pure and innocent to be suited for the dark and cruel mafia world.

Usually, Bel despised those kind of peasants, but something about Tsuki, he had no idea _what_ exactly, but something, had intrigued him enough to spare the girl when she sat down next to him in that bar somewhat over a month ago.

He listened to her ramblings and complaints even when he wasn't the least bit interested in the Diego guy she constantly kept mentioning, or this other peasant, Meghan... or something...

It certainly was unlike the ripper prince to act like that, but Bel suspected it was the job of excessive alcohol at work that played a big part in him not cutting her up. He'd just returned from a particularly tiring mission, after all.

He was still a bit fuzzy on the details of what happened later though, for one moment he was sitting in a bar in Venice, buying the stranger next to him shots as she talked non-stop, and next thing he knew, he was awoken by Squalo's excruciatingly loud scream of "VOOOOOOIIIIIII!", only to have the damn frog shake a marriage certificate he could not remember signing in front of his eyes.

He clearly remembered spending the whole morning recovering from a horrid hangover that day.

Initially, he'd wanted to kill Tsuki, she seemed like a screamer after all, and those were his favorite kind. But soon, Belphegor started finding teasing and pestering the brunette much more amusing than the thought of ripping her insides out.

And that was a first for the blonde known as Prince The Ripper.

Lussuria immediately accumulated it to love of course, which was the most ridiculous thing that had ever come out of the flamboyant boxer's mouth (and a lot of stupid things tended to come out of his mouth), for prince Belphegor had never, and would never, love anyone. He hadn't loved his parents (his brother was not even worth mentioning), and he sure as hell was not going to fall in love with a mere peasant. Period.

Clicking his tongue, Bel ran a hand through his wet hair, annoyed by the fact that the now straight strands of hair made him look like his stupid brother. The first thing he was going to do when he got back to the hotel, was dry his hair.

Too absorbed in his internal monologue, Bel only noticed the shining object on the ground when he happened to step on it. The ripper prince stopped, kneeling down to pick up the silver blade.

He'd recognize it anywhere, for it was one of his own knives. Belphegor had hundreds of them, and while it was true that most peasants could not tell the difference between the countless silver blades, the prince was capable of telling them apart with just a single glance, and the knife he was currently holding, was the exact same one he'd given to the peasant last week, when she'd almost gotten herself into a threesome.

No matter what that woman did, she seemed to always manage to somehow get herself in trouble and, judging by the scent of blood that was lingering on the blade, as well as the faint redness of the rainwater that it had just been in, this time was no exception.

Pocketing the blade, Belphegor took a look around before running off to find her.

He barely felt the icy rain against his body as he ran down the streets, his hidden eyes scanning every single inch of his surroundings, the unfamiliar feeling of worry inside his chest only intensifying each time he thought he saw something but it turned out to be nothing.

Where the hell had that damn woman gone?

'No! Wait- please- don't- mmph!'

The ripper prince stopped dead on his tracks as he heard that voice, Tsuki's voice. Looking back, Bel's eyes fell on an alleyway he had previously not noticed. The blonde assassin promptly turned around ran over to the alley he was sure the voice had come from.

And sure enough, there she was, lying on the ground and thrashing around as she tried to push off the peasant sitting on top her, forcefully having captured her lips into a rough kiss.

There were three more peasants standing by, laughing and jeering at the brunette as she tried, without success, to escape her attacker.

Finally having found her, all of Belphegor's previous worry instantly evaporated, rapidly being replaced by pure, burning fury. No peasant was allowed to touch _his_ peasant.

Overcome by a sudden surge of possessiveness, a dozen of knives appeared in Prince The Ripper's hands, the eyes under his blonde bangs narrowed at the insolent peasants dangerously.

He was personally going to see to it that they regretted the moment they came into this world.

The first one to go down was, obviously, the one kissing Tsuki. Three knives to his shoulder were enough to knock him off her, gasping in shock and pain.

Belphegor wasn't done with him though, he would suffer. The filthy peasant had dug his grave the moment he laid a hand on the brunette. But first-

Turning to the other three, the pathetic idiots had not even noticed him, instead running over to their leader, he flung a few more knives, killing them instantly.

Turning to Tsuki and making sure she wasn't hurt, the blonde turned his attention back to the other peasant.

'Now... what shall the prince do with you, peasant?' Belphegor hummed, casually walking over to the man that was sitting sprawled on the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder in pain, his eyes wide with fear. 'Ushishi. Shall he turn you into a cactus? Or shall he cut your tongue out first...?'

The blonde sniggered as he watched the peasant shut his mouth tightly, trying to back away from the ripper prince. As if that could keep Belphegor from getting what he wanted, in a few more minutes the alleyway would be filled with this peasant's blood and insides, that would teach him not to mess with the wrong people.

_Ushishi_, not that he'd still be alive by the time the prince was done with him.

* * *

><p>Tsuki could only close her eyes and try to shut out the man's screams as Belphegor killed him.<p>

The man cried, he begged, but the ripper prince didn't listen, he just went on with whatever he was doing, in an even more painful way, if the increasing volume of Roberto's screams were anything to go by.

Tsuki didn't know how long it lasted, it felt like eternity to the brunette, but finally, at long last, the screams stopped, being replaced by the dull sound of falling rain.

For a moment, nothing happened as Belphegor gathered his knives, wiping them off at his shirt in complete silence, but then, he suddenly turned to her. The brunette wasn't sure what to expect, was he still mad at her for what she'd said earlier? She knew he hadn't forgotten it, but he didn't seem to be emitting any killing intent anymore...

'You okay, peasant?' He asked, coming to stop in front of her.

Tsuki's eyes filled with tears as she tried to force out a "yes", but she couldn't. How the hell did he expect her to be alright after what had almost happened?

Belphegor opened his mouth, apparently having realized his mistake just then, but before he could say anything, the brunette threw herself at him, her hands clenching the blood-soaked fabric of his shirt as she buried her face into the self-proclaimed prince's chest.

Belphegor made no move to push the brunette off him, perhaps because he was caught by surprise at her sudden action, and letting her cry on his already soaked shirt. The blonde prince wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this, he was an assassin after all, his job was to kill people, not to console crying girls.

Carefully, the blonde pushed Tsuki off him, causing the brunette to look up in confusion.

'Belph-'

She was cut off by a pair of lips on her own, Tsuki's face instantly turning beet red as her eyes widened. Belphegor was... _kissing her_...?

It was just a simple, lip-to-lip kiss, but it felt so nice, it felt so... right... Tsuki couldn't help but run her finger over her lips in wonder after Belphegor pulled away.

'Ushishi, let's go, peasant.' The blonde said, grinning as he took Tsuki's hand and started to pull her out of the alley.


	12. The sick prince

For once, Tsuki was actually feeling comfortable as she started to slowly awake, too lazy to bother opening her eyes quite yet. She'd just woken up from a rather pleasant dream and didn't feel like returning to reality anytime soon.

She was warm and comfortable, after all, a feeling she'd become quite unaccustomed to during the past few weeks she'd been living in a love hotel together with the crazy assassin known to the world as Belphegor.

It was that, if anything, that made the brunette wonder, _why the sudden change_?

It certainly didn't feel like her self-made bath-bed, she should know after having spent so many nights it it. The construction was warm, sure, but it also gave one some hellish backaches. A hellish backache that was noticeably absent that morning.

It rather felt like she was actually lying on a _real _bed for once, with real warm fluffy covers as well as soft pillows and...

… _a pair of arms around her waist_...?

The realization instantly caused Tsuki's eyes to snap open, taking a sharp intake of air as the young woman found herself face-to-face with a certain blond-haired assassin.

Belphegor was sleeping, if his chest rising and falling rhythmically was anything to go by, inhaling and exhaling softly. He had his arms wrapped around the brunette's slender waist, pulling her closer to him and pressing her head against his chest.

Tsuki felt her cheeks flush pink, trying to wriggle out of the blonde's grasp as yesterday's events all came rushing back to her. They had been so tired by the time they finally found their way back to the hotel (thankfully Bel had a much better sense of direction than Tsuki), that they both proceeded to promptly pass out the moment they sat down on the bed to catch their breaths.

Gosh... how embarrassing.

'B-Belphegor...' The brunette timidly whispered, trying to gently nudge the blonde into letting go off her, preferably without waking up himself.

The action didn't exactly have the desired effect though, and Bel only murmured something incoherent in his sleep, tightening his grip around Tsuki.

'Bel- please...'

But it was futile, the self-proclaimed prince was sleeping like dead.

Gulping, Tsuki bit her lip, her eyes nervously moving over to the blonde's face. He actually looked... quite _peaceful_ when he was asleep... you'd never guess he was the same person as the insane psychopath he was when awake. It was killing her to admit it to even herself but in reality, when he was sleeping, Belphegor _did_ kinda look a teeny weeny little bit like the prince he always claimed to be...

With that golden hair of his, and those handsome, regal features... how couldn't he? Tsuki had to admit that, was he not the twisted lunatic he was, she would've most certainly have fallen head over heels in love with him in an instant.

_Or even with his current character..._ a treacherous little voice in the back of her head said, causing Tsuki to frown. Try as she might however, she could not simply brush off the statement for it was, to some extent, true.

Belphegor might be an arrogant, rude and insensible son of a bitch at times, but there were parts of the assassin that, the brunette had to admit, weren't all that bad... just as he had shown her just last night, when he'd saved her and then let her cry on his chest... and then, when he'd kissed her.

Thinking of the little peck she'd received, Tsuki couldn't help but run a finger over her lips in remembrance. It had felt surprisingly... nice, considering whom it'd come from. The brunette was a bit surprised to realize she wouldn't even mind repeating the experience.

Shaking her head, Tsuki pushed the kiss out of her mind. She didn't even know _why_ Belphegor had just all of a sudden kissed her, she wasn't even sure if it had meant anything to him... she couldn't deny the butterflies that had swirled all around her stomach the moment their lips had touched though.

She had no idea when it had started, but it was pointless to try and deny it now, Tsuki was falling for the blonde assassin prince.

Turning back to said assassin prince, the brunette was pulled out of her thoughts (how long had she been pondering over Belphegor anyway?) upon seeing his face, or well, as much of it was visible, anyway.

Belphegor's facial features were scrunched up in a look of discomfort and he was sweating, shivering slightly as he shifted a little, pulling Tsuki even closer to him and squeezing like she was a teddy bear. Was he having a nightmare, or something?

'Bel...?' The brunette whispered, figuring (or rather, hoping) that he wouldn't mind her calling him by his nickname instead of his full name. She got no answer though, confirming the fact that he was still asleep as he seemed to kind of cling to her. If it wasn't for the brunette being worried about him at the moment, she'd have blushed bright pink.

'You couldn't be...' She trailed off as she carefully wriggled her hand out of where it had been sandwiched between his chest and her boobs, pushing those long bangs aside to place a hand on his forehead.

Her eyes widened and she immediately pulled her hand away again, gasping at how warm he was. That couldn't be good.

'Bel...?' She nudged him a bit, trying to wriggle out of his grasp, she had to somehow make his temperature drop, for he was positively burning up. How lost in her thoughts had she been to _not_ notice it? 'Belphegor.' She repeated, a bit more urgently this time. 'Come on, please let go...'

He didn't respond but, consciously or unconsciously she wasn't sure, his arms loosened a little giving Tsuki just enough space to get herself out of his arms without waking him up.

Not losing another moment, the girl sprinted over to the bathroom, grabbing some unused towels and letting the tap water run. She didn't have a bucket or anything of the sort to put the water in and so she simply washed off the glass bowl she'd gotten together with the cake Belphegor had sent her out to buy last Tuesday.

Looks like it _did_ come in handy after all.

Hurrying back into the room with the bowl and towels in hand, Tsuki positioned herself next to Belphegor, carefully dipping the towel inside the bowl and soaking it, then proceeding to push the blonde's bangs out of the way before placing the wet cloth on his forehead. Her mother always used to do that when she was sick as a kid, so she figured it'd perhaps help the blonde assassin too.

He'd need proper medication, of course, but she first of all needed to make sure that his temperature dropped by a few degrees, then she could quickly go out and buy something for the fever.

Tsuki was aware, of course, that she probably should check with a doctor first, in case that it was something more serious, but, seeing as he was wanted and all, she wasn't sure the blonde (or the rest of the Varia) would appreciate that. So she decided to leave the doctor out of it. For now, at least.

Taking the towel off Bel's forehead, the brunette dipped it back into the water, briefly turning to glance at the blonde before wringing it, and placing it back on his head.

'W-what are you doing, peasant?' The voice was so unlike the usual Belphegor that Tsuki almost didn't recognize it, but his lips had definitely moved... and she'd been called a peasant... so it couldn't be anyone else.

'Bel?' The brown-haired girl whispered, turning her gaze to the prince's face, the worry in her eyes momentarily being replaced by surprise as she took in the full face of Prince The Ripper, which was now exposed to her thanks to the wet cloth on his forehead.

He was indeed, dashingly good-looking, but she hadn't expected anything less from him, what had surprised her was, in reality, the eyes.

They were _beautiful_, a stunning shade of blue like the most expensive sapphires out there. Tsuki's breath had momentarily been caught up in her throat as she stared at them, surprised by all the emotions she was able to read so clearly.

Confusion, and annoyance and... something else, something the brunette couldn't quite place.

People always said that eyes were the windows to the soul, and now she could see that that was true. Perhaps that was why the blonde had taken to hiding them, because they showed too much of what he was truly feeling. Which was a pity, because really, as aforementioned, his eyes were beautiful.

'Oi. Peasant.'

Curiosity. Annoyance. It was all so clear.

'Ah, right. Sorry, it's just, you seem to have a fever.'

'Che, and whose fault would that be?' He grinned, though not quite as widely as usual, making Tsuki blush.

Amusement flashed through his eyes, and Tsuki couldn't help but be surprised again.

'What the hell are you staring at? Does the prince have something on his face, or something?'

He was starting to get annoyed again now.

'Uh... no, it's nothing, just... your eyes-'

'My eyes? ' He echoed, actually stopping to refer to himself in third person for once. He didn't seem to have taken notice of it though.

There was confusion in his eyes, then realization and then... was that..._ panic_...?

'Who the hell said you could rearrange my bangs? They are there for a reason...!' he exclaimed, trying to cover up his eyes again, though not before sending Tsuki a glare, and boy, it was every bit as terrifying as she'd always imagined his glares to be.

'Wh- you- you don't need to be so mean to me! I was only trying to help, I can't possibly put the towel down on top of all that hair, it needs to be on your forehead...!' Tsuki protested, not about to let the person she was taking care of just shout at her for no reason at all. 'And why would you hide them anyway, they're really pretty.'

Apparently, Belphegor didn't very much like his eyes being called _pretty_, for Tsuki felt his glare practically boring through her skull just seconds later. Then he suddenly just sighed and dropped it, lying back down.

'Whatever, the prince is in no mood to argue...' He muttered, making Tsuki raise an eyebrow. The fever must be taking its toll on his energy.

Apparently having decided he no longer cared whether or not the brunette saw his eyes, Belphegor let her go on with her work, soaking the towel, wringing it, placing it on his forehead, waiting for a while and then repeating the action all over again.

This went on for a while, neither of them talking to each other, but it was, somehow, a comfortable silence, Tsuki supposed. Deciding that the assassin's fever had gone down enough for now, the brunette placed the wet towel on his forehead one last time, taking the bowl and starting to get up.

'Where are you going?' Belphegor asked, grabbing her wrist so suddenly he startled the girl.

'Huh? Well, your fever has dropped a bit...' Tsuki casually said, trying to shake her wrist out of the blonde's grip. Damn, for a sick person, Belphegor sure was strong. 'So I thought I'd go out and get you some medicine from the pharmacy...'

Uh... he still wasn't letting go...

'Look, Bel, I-'

'Stay with the prince.' Blinking, the brunette turned to the assassin, wondering if she was having some sort of hearing deficiency. Had he just said- 'The prince demands you stay with him, peasant.'

Wow. He really said it...

'Um, but I won't be gone for long, besides, you need-'

'The prince doesn't care.' With one hard yank, Tsuki found herself being pulled back, dropping the bowl in surprise (which shattered, soaking the carpet) as she fell on top of the blonde assassin. 'As a peasant you're obliged to follow the prince's orders. The prince doesn't want you going anywhere.'

And, as if that settled the matter, Belphegor closed his eyes, his hand still holding onto the brunette's wrist tightly. It took him only seconds to rearrange his position, wrapping his arms around the "peasant" and ensuring she wouldn't be able to go anywhere without his express permission.

Tsuki sighed, well, since she was going to be stuck there for a while, she might as well get under the covers... no need to get sick as well...

Glancing back at Belphegor, the brunette wondered if it was his fever making him act so clingy and weird... probably, because she really didn't know what else it could be anyway... he better wake up before the pharmacy closed though... Tsuki still had to go out and get that medicine.

* * *

><p>Carefully wriggling herself out of the blonde's arms, Tsuki swung her legs off the bed, stretching as she was finally able to free herself. For the last two hours, <em>two entire freaking hours<em>, every _single_ time she had tried to get up, the assassin had restrained her.

For a sleeping person that also happened to be sick, Belphegor sure had a strong grip.

Frowning, the brunette turned to look back at the guy sleeping peacefully under the warm fluffy covers, for once not having been awoken from her attempts to free herself, and thank god for that, it'd have been another two hours until she managed to get away from him otherwise.

Gosh, that guy could be stubborn. It wasn't like she wasn't going to return after she bought him the damn medicine (where the hell would she go anyway? With her crappy sense of direction and her even crappier luck lately, she'd most certainly not get far), besides, it was for him she'd be going out in the first place, if anything, he should be grateful, not bitching about her not being _allowed_ (the nerve of him!) to leave.

Tsuki sighed, getting irritated about Belphegor's weird and annoying mannerisms wouldn't cure him of his fever. Unfortunately, that was how the situation was at the moment, she should just get going before the assassin woke up again and tied her down or something equally creepy.

Ugh, that weird clingyness he seemed to have suddenly developed was getting to her head. Not good.

Before her mind could come up with anymore stupid scenarios of what Bel would do if he were to wake up before she was back, Tsuki quickly took some money from where he had left it on the table last night and, grabbing her coat, she was off.

The closest pharmacy was about ten minutes away from the hotel, so the brunette got there fairly quickly, the problem was, however, actually getting the medicine. She still wasn't exactly sure _what_ it was that Belphegor had, and thus, didn't want to risk getting him the wrong medication.

'Just a fever, you said...?' The young pharmacist repeated, and Tsuki nodded.

'Erm, yeah, and it was pretty high too...' She laughed nervously as the black-haired guy gave her a look. 'Me and my... uh... friend are just here on a... vacation.' She quickly explained, hoping she sounded at least even a tiny bit convincing. It wasn't all that far from the truth after all, they _were_ only staying there temporarily, until Belphegor received some kind of orders from his higher-ups. 'We didn't have a thermometer...'

'Right, so no vomiting, no-'

'No, no, just plain fever... I just, it was probably from the rain yesterday... he got completely soaked and... yeah...' Damn, and she'd forgotten to ask if perhaps the blonde had a sore throat, because if that was the case she should get him something for that too.

Hmm, she probably didn't have enough money on her right now anyway though... deciding that something against the fever was of more importance at the moment, Tsuki turned her attention back to the dark-haired pharmacist.

'Right, well, I can't give you much without a prescription, I'm afraid...' He said, frowning slightly. 'You probably haven't seen a doctor yet, right?'

'Uh, no...'

Scratching the side of his head a bit as he seemed to be thinking of something, the guy finally turned away to some drawers, still talking as he pulled one open.

'I'm just going to give you some pills... they should keep the fever down at least.' Tsuki nodded, _something_ was better than nothing, after all. Though she perhaps really _should_ somehow try and convince Belphegor to see a doctor...

Lussuria would've surely been able to do something about the blonde's condition if he were there, but, right now, they were on their own. And Tsuki didn't know about the blonde assassin prince, but taking a Paracetamol was as far as her medical knowledge went. Anything beyond that was out of her hands.

'Thanks.' The brunette smiled back at the pharmacist as he handed her the change, wishing her a good evening as he watched her go.

A soft "_ching_" sounded as the door closed behind her, but the brunette didn't get far, for there was, in fact, someone already standing there, blocking her way.

Tsuki paused for a moment, looking at the brown-haired teenager just standing there, feeling a slight shiver run down her spine as his emotionless, almost pitch black eyes watched her intently.

Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that... in some way, she had met the boy before.

'Er, excuse me.' She tried to walk around him, but the brown-haired kid took a step to his right, blocking her way again. Tsuki took a step back, her eyebrows raised slightly. 'Can I help you...?'

The boy didn't answer her question though, preferring to mumble to himself instead.

'Seems like we finally hit the jackpot, huh? About time.' Turning his gaze back to the brown-haired woman in front of him, the boy's words were directed at her this time. 'Where is Belphegor?'


	13. Visitors

_'Where is Belphegor?'_

* * *

><p>For a few moments, all that Tsuki could do was stare at the teenager standing in front of her, surprise and panic quickly starting to rip through her as he stared right back at her, apathetic black eyes piercing into her brown ones, silently demanding an answer.<p>

The young woman wasn't quite sure of what to do, but even with her "simplistic little peasant mind" (as Bel would've undoubtedly oh-so-nicely put it), she knew that if this guy was an enemy, she could under no condition bring him back to where the blonde assassin was, sick and bedridden.

For Belphegor might've been one of Italy's most feared assassins right now, but a sick person was still a sick person, and the blonde prince was no exception. Even he wouldn't be able to fight someone off when he could hardly stand without getting dizzy.

'Uh...' Tsuki hesitated, taking a quick look around her. The boy didn't seem to be any older than a junior high school student, but the brunette didn't let that fool her, during her stay with the Varia she'd learned the hard way not to judge people by their looks. Nothing was ever as it seemed, not in the mafia world at least.

'Who...?' The brunette questioned cautiously, deciding that feigning ignorance would be the best course of action right now. If she acted like she didn't know Bel, the kid would hopefully think he had the wrong person and leave her alone.

As it always seemed to happen with Tsuki though, luck seemed to be once again avoiding her, for the boy didn't move an inch.

'That won't work on me, you know.' He simply stated, the coal-colored eyes never leaving the brunette's face, it was quite honestly starting to send shivers down her spine, this guy was creepy as hell. 'I'm surprised Bel isn't with you this very moment in fact, wasn't that idiot supposed to be protecting you, or something?'

Tsuki blinked. The boy talked as if he was familiar with Bel... could it be...? He could still be an enemy though, for all she knew.

'Huh? I... I really don't know what you're talking about...' The brunette insisted, trying to act as innocently as she possibly could in this situation, better safe than sorry after all. The teen just raised an eyebrow in response as he looked at her, not seeming to be the least bit impressed by her lies.

'You _do_ know that you're a horrible liar, right?' He deadpanned, giving Tsuki a pointed look. The young woman sweat-dropped, she knew that she was no genius actress, but was she really that obvious...?

Sighing, the brown-haired boy shook his head, turning to Tsuki once again and reaching out for her wrist, starting to yank her along in the opposite direction of the hotel.

'I'll just have to show you, I suppose.' He murmured, ignoring Tsuki's flailing and protests as they came to a stop inside an easily overlooked alleyway, away from all the other people walking around the main road. 'How bothersome...'

The moment he let go off her, the brunette reached for the silver little knife inside her pocket, grateful that Bel had forced her to keep it with her after all, ready to defend herself if necessary.

'Yare, yare... you've got no need for that, child.'

It was, in fact, the surprisingly familiar voice that halted the brunette, her eyes widening slightly at the small cloud of indigo mist that had started to suddenly gather around the teenager.

Just a sec, she knew that feeling... it was...

'An illusion...?' Tsuki questioned, realization starting to finally dawn upon her as a very familiar hooded infant emerged from behind all the mist, a yellow snake curled up above its head rather like a halo, helping the small illusionist fly. '_Mammon_...?'

'Finally got it, did you?' The flying baby chuckled, the tips of her lips turning slightly upwards for a second or two, it was so brief that the brunette almost missed it. 'Not bad for someone who's only experienced a real illusion once...'

Tsuki blinked, had Mammon just... actually _praised_ her...? Without asking for a fee in order for doing so? wow.

'T-thanks... I guess...' The brunette murmured awkwardly, not exactly sure of what else to say as she put Bel's knife away again now that she knew that she was in no immediate danger. Mammon just nodded, reverting back to her previous form.

'I'm just pointing out the facts, though for now, call me Monta.'

* * *

><p>The black-haired teenager surveyed his surroundings with a look akin to boredom as he walked down the love hotel's long halls, his green cell phone in hand as he auto-dialed his teammate.<p>

The phone rang thrice, and "Monta" picked up.

'Senpai...' He drawled the word out, as if deliberately trying to anger the person on the other side of the line. 'I found the hotel Bel-senpai and Tsuki-san are staying at, I'm there right now, actually.' He stated, his voice a perfect monotone.

"Monta" hmmed, and Fran could imagine the brown-haired fourteen-year-old (who was in fact just a baby in disguise) nod at his words.

_'Alright.'_ The answer finally came, _'You head up to Bel and wait there, I'm with Tsuki right now, we'll be there in a few.'_

'Ehhh? Senpai... why do I get to babysit the fake prince? He'll just want to stab me again...'

_'I don't care, go, or I'll charge you.'_

With that, the conversation came to an abrupt stop as "Monta" hung up on Fran, leaving the normally-teal-now-black haired boy with the task of finding his senpai. Fran sighed, people just loved to make him miserable, didn't they?

* * *

><p>'Good grief, Bel is sick, you say?' Mammon (or Monta, as the former infant had requested she be called) questioned as he (she) walked down the pavement, allowing Tsuki to lead the way as she followed. 'How troublesome, he never pays any of my fees when he's in a bad mood... and Bel's always in a bad mood when he's sick, much more so when he's bedridden...' Shaking his head, "Monta" sighed. 'What's even worse, he tends to become clingy as hell...'<p>

The mist user shuddered, recalling that one time when Bel had gotten a particularly nasty case of pneumonia after falling into a frozen lake in the middle of Siberia. The weeks that followed had been pure hell on earth for the Varia mist guardian, Mammon could still quite vividly remember almost being suffocated multiple times because of a twelve-year-old Bel having decided that she'd make a good teddy bear.

Oh, the horrors of being an arcobaleno... other than frequently being mistaken for one of the Varia members' daughter by strangers (not to mention the dreaded moment when the waitress came up to the table carrying a high chair), Mammon had often been forced to be Belphegor's teddy bear during his younger years.

The petite illusionist thanked every god out there that he no longer needed the aid of something he could snuggle half to death in order to fall asleep.

'Um, yeah... I got that much...' Tsuki murmured, her cheeks getting tainted with a slight pink blush as she recalled how Bel had clung to her just that morning.

So it _had_ been the fever at work, after all. For some reason, Tsuki couldn't help but be a bit disappointed by that revelation.

'Anyway,' Mammon spoke up again, turning the brunette's attention back to the brown-haired teenager. 'We better get to the hotel you're staying at before Fran gets himself killed, a sick Bel means a grumpy Bel, and that never ends well...'

Tsuki nodded, she'd seen the disasters a grumpy Bel could create firsthand... and the teal-haired illusionist's sarcastic and rude comments (Tsuki sometimes found herself wondering whether he had any self-preservation instincts at all) sure as hell would not help lighten the assassin prince's mood.

'Right, it's just a bit further down this street...' The illusionist nodded, taking lead as Tsuki followed in a slower pace, her face scrunched up in thought.

Monta... Monta... where had she heard that name before? She just _knew_, she had no idea how, but she just knew she somehow knew it... And it wasn't only the name either, everything about Mammon's disguise seemed strangely familiar. But she'd never met any mafiosi before getting herself into an unwanted marriage with Bel, had she?

Not as far as she knew...

'Hey, Mam- uh, Monta...' The brunette halted just in time, replacing the illusionist's real name with the fake one.

The brown-haired teenager walking in front of her, made a "hmm" sound to indicate that he (she) was listening.

'Uh... well, I just wanted to ask you something... you wouldn't happen to-' She paused, thinking of how she should word her question. 'Is that illusion based on a real person...?'

Mammon raised an eyebrow at the weird question but shrugged it off, nodding instead.

'I guess you could say that... it's the outcome of combining many people together...' The illusionist explained. 'Why are you asking?'

'Um, it's nothing really... I just kind of felt like I've met Monta before, not you, but... the illusion...' "Monta" nodded, seeming to accept her answer. They walked on in silence for a few moments, before the illusionist broke it, speaking up once again.

'I'm surprised you'd still remember this disguise... I've only used it once, after all...' Tsuki turned to look at the blank-faced teenager, waiting for him to go on. 'We were in Namimori on business... Bel and I, I mean. I'm pretty sure this is the disguise I used to attend your school for those few weeks.'

Tsuki blinked, the image of two kids in Namimori school uniforms, Monta and a redheaded girl called Himeka, if the writing on the blackboard behind them was anything to go by, invading her mind.

_'Shishishi. You can call me Hime._'

Himeka... _Hime_... of course- princess! And that laugh, back then it might've meant nothing to her, but now... Tsuki would recognize that snigger anywhere.

'Himeka-san... was _Bel_?' The brunette asked, not bothering to even try and mask the pure incredulity in her voice. The brunette's good impression of the redheaded girl was quickly going down the drain, she couldn't believe she'd thought for even a moment that the girl (who wasn't even a girl at all) was a pretty okay person.

Sure, Bel could be okay at times, when he wasn't being a perverted, blood-thirsty, narcissistic lunatic that had lost one too many marbles already, that is.

But that was beside the point, for the brunette just couldn't get over the fact that she'd actually had _strawberry cake_ with the assassin prince (along with a classmate of hers whom she could not remember) and actually enjoyed it! They'd even gone shopping afterwards...!

Hadn't she been the one to show the two transfer students around Nami middle on their first day there as well?

Just how many more mafia people had she unknowingly been involved with? First, half of her old classmates turn up at a party hosted by one of the mafia's most influential Families (the class's biggest loser turned out to be said Family's boss, for god's sake!) and then she found out that she'd shared a strawberry cake and gone shopping with _Prince The Ripper _himself. The guy that became the source of all her troubles some ten years later... never before had Tsuki believed the words "it's a small world" to be more true.

'A love hotel?' Mammon's voice suddenly pulled Tsuki back to reality, causing the brunette to blink in surprise as she realized that they were standing in front of the hotel. When had they even gotten there? 'Why am I not surprised?'

Tsuki cleared her throat awkwardly, starting to lead "Monta" to the room she and Bel had been sharing those past few weeks, preferring not to comment on the arcobaleno's dry statement earlier.

'Bel?' She called out, poking her head inside the room, half-expecting a knife to come flying at her for leaving the blonde alone against his wishes.

Surprisingly, no knife pierced her skin though, for it would seem like the ripper prince had matters to take care of that he deemed to be more important than the brunette standing by the door.

'You fucking frog!' The blonde assassin sitting in the big double bed growled, three knives instantly being thrown in his kohai's direction and getting stuck in the black frog hat the boy always seemed to wear. 'I'm going to disembowel you and hang your insides from the tower of Pizza!'

'I'd rather if you didn't, senpai...' The teal-haired illusionist standing by the couch deadpanned, his eyes impassive as he pulled the knives that had earlier been thrown at him out of his hat and casually dropped them on the ground.

'Why you-! If only I could get up, I'd-'

'Mu, stop carelessly destroying the hotel, Bel...' Mammon cut in, going back to her original form as Tsuki stepped inside the room and closed the door behind them. 'I don't want to be charged any money for destroying private property, you know.'

'Che, you here too, Mammon?' Giving the small illusionist and Tsuki a look, the assassin prince scowled. 'Fine, but I'm still killing him once I'm better.'

The infant sighed as Bel folded his arms over his chest, glaring pointedly at Fran, probably plotting his death already.

'Just what happened here anyway?' The cloaked baby asked, floating over to the ripped-up curtains and inspecting them, letting out a sigh when she realized they were destroyed beyond repair.

'It's all the damned frog's fault for mocking the prince.' Bel grumbled, and Tsuki couldn't help but roll her eyes as she watched the feared mafia assassin known as "Prince The Ripper" act like a spoiled five-year-old.

'But all I did was point out that I'd never expected to see senpai get sick...' The teal-haired illusionist objected in his usual monotone. 'Don't they say that idiots can't get sick? It's obviously a lie...'

'Why you-!'

'Bel, please...!' Tsuki exclaimed, rushing over to the blonde and preventing him from chucking a total of about ten knives at Fran, thus possibly killing the poor boy.

She felt the assassin's muscles relax as he turned to look at her, not seeming all too happy at having been stopped by the brunette but thankfully not angry enough to start throwing knives at her.

'And where were you?' He snapped, and Tsuki could imagine the blue eyes under his bangs narrowing as he went on. 'The prince clearly stated that you were not to leave his side.'

'Ah... but, I had to go get your medicine...' Tsuki said. 'Besides, I wasn't gone for _that_ long, was I?'

Bel huffed, muttering something that sounded like "whatever" as he lied back down, all the shouting and knife-throwing apparently having tired him.

'Well,' Mammon suddenly spoke up, turning everyone's attention to her 'now that you two are finally done trying to kill each other, I'd like to get onto the matter of why we wasted our time _and _money wandering around half of Italy looking for you.'

Fran blinked, as if suddenly remembering that the actual reason for which he was here wasn't to annoy Bel.

'Oh,that's right, Decimo is summoning everyone for the final attack against the Rossi Family.' He simply said, his eyes darting over to Bel for a moment before speaking up again. 'Although I'm not sure whether Bel-senpai is going to be helpful in the fight or, more likely than not, just a bother.'

'Oi! The prince is totally fine, frog! He can fight normally!' Belphegor exclaimed, trying to jump out of bed to prove his earlier words, but failing miserably as his plan backfired, being overtaken by a wave of dizziness that caused him to almost fall over.

'Bel...!' Tsuki cried, reaching out and catching the assassin before he could completely lose his balance, helping Belphegor back into the bed.

'See? The only useful thing you'll be able to do in that state, is ooze on the enemy, they might get infected and hopefully you'll both die.'

'Fran...!'

'What?' The teal-haired illusionist shrugged, as if he hadn't just said something as horrible as he did.

Tsuki sighed... and thus, the peaceful days ended...


	14. Kyoko, Haru, Ipin

Despite of how urgent Mammon and Fran had made everything sound, it was actually still a fortnight before any actions had to be taken.

The very same night of their arrival already, the two Varia illusionists decided to freeload at the hotel room they were staying at until further notice, Mammon somehow producing a hammock out of god-knows-where, and Fran taking over Tsuki's bath bed.

That, of course, left Tsuki with no option other than sharing the double bed with Belphegor. Surprisingly (or not, depending on how you looked at it), the "prince" had had no objections to the idea seeing as, even more surprisingly, he'd been the one to suggest it in the first place.

Though she obviously wasn't thrilled about the whole situation, things had been pretty... bearable at first, unfortunately though, the more the ripper prince seemed to recover from his illness, the more his old self he seemed to resurface. And lets admit it, what kind of a sane person would fancy sharing a bed with someone that was not only an impossibly rude and blood-happy assassin sporting an ego that could rival that of Gilderoy Lockhart's, but was also undoubtedly the biggest pervert within a fifteen thousand mile radius as well?

Tsuki knew she sure as hell didn't.

Not to mention, Bel could be such a pain in the ass when he wanted to. Not only was he ridiculously stubborn, complaining about every little thing he could possibly think of and annoying the heck out of anyone and everyone, but he was also completely irrational. Who demands an ice-cream (five scoops of it no less!) when he's stuck in bed with a fever of forty?

Prince The Ripper, apparently.

Now add a money-obsessed infant and sarcastic frog hat-wearing kohai to the fray (both of whom couldn't be bothered with helping Tsuki out with the troublesome blonde), and you've got yourself a Varia quality mess... If there was one thing someone could confidently say at this point, it was that Tsuki's everyday life was certainly boring no more...

It wasn't until that Thursday that they heard of any of their allies.

The brunette remembered that particular morning quite well because she had been busy trying to convince Bel to take his medicine properly (the pervert had gotten it in his head that he wanted to be mouth-fed) when one of the Vongola Decimo's guardians had suddenly called.

A really dark, funeral tune had started to suddenly play, all of them looking up in confusion as they paused whatever it was they'd been doing to take a look around, their eyes almost instantly spotting the small illusionist that was absently pulling a cell phone out from under her cloak and flipping it open to take a look at that caller ID.

Tsuki couldn't make out the details of the conversation, but the loud "EXTREME!" which greeted Mammon the moment she accepted the call was enough to rouse a few suspicions as to who was on the other side of the line.

The petite illusionist mainly "mmm"ed and "hmm"ed during the (mostly one-sided) conversation, only opening her mouth once to inform the energetic boxer of their location before hanging up and turning to everyone else.

'Well? Are we getting the hell out of here or not?' Bel asked, medicine forgotten as he looked at Mammon, only too eager to be able to get out of the bed he'd been confined in for the last few days.

The hooded infant nodded, putting her cell phone back inside her cloak as she spoke.

'Someone will be coming to pick us up tomorrow morning.'

* * *

><p>'Ahaha, come on Bel-san, it's time to wake up...!' Shake. Shake.<p>

'Senpai...' Poke. Poke. Poke. '_Senpai_, wake up.'

'Bel... come on, please.'

'Bel, we need to get going.'

'You damn knife bastard! Get the hell up already, you're making the tenth wait!'

Silence.

The group of people gathered over the sleeping assassin sighed, Tsuki bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as Gokudera scowled, glaring at the blonde assassin prince that snoozed on peacefully without a care in the world.

The five of them had been trying to get Belphegor out of bed for at least twenty minutes now, but, just as always, Bel just had to make their life hard. He was refusing to get up, hell, he was refusing to even open his eyes. That is, at least, if all their poking, shaking and shouting had even managed to wake him up in the first place...

'Senpaaaaaaaiii, the idiot baseball guy and the bomb freak are here...' Gokudera glared at Fran as Yamamoto laughed in amusement, Bel however, who was the one they really wanted a reaction of, remained asleep.

'You better get up before your brain gets blown to tiny little pieces.' The illusionist added in his trademark monotone voice, poking his senpai's cheek. Still nothing...

'Alright senpai, me and the bomb freak are going to have a threesome with your girlfriend now...'

'_Excuse me_?' Tsuki spluttered out at the same time as Gokudera cried out _"WHAT_?", both of their faces beet red, the added knowledge that they were currently in a _love hotel_ not helping matters in the least. Fran simply ignored them, his eyes still focused on his senpai, who didn't react to what he'd just said and kept on breathing in and out normally, looking quite peaceful.

'Huh... he really must be asleep then...'

'W-what did you say _that_ for, you dumb frog?' Gokudera grumbled, desperately trying to rid himself of the blush on his cheeks as Yamamoto laughed cheerfully, something which, of course, earned him a glare from his fellow guardian.

'Y-yeah, that was completely uncalled for... Besides, I'm not even his girlf-' The pointed look the illusionist gave Tsuki promptly shut her up as she turned even redder, he clearly didn't believe her.

But it was true...! There was nothing going on between them! A-and that kiss that night, i-it was just-

'Really? I didn't know that sharing a bed and mouth-feeding someone his medicine was considered a friendly relationship, bride woman...'

Tsuki just stared at Fran, her eyes widening almost comically as her face burned red with embarrassment, Fran had seen that? How utterly humiliating...!

'I- that was- I- I just-' Tsuki stuttered uselessly, all the pairs of eyes gathered on her practically burning her, keeping her from concentrating enough to make a coherent sentence. 'I- I was only- he-'

Oh how she wished the Earth would just open up and swallow her whole!

'Haha, it's fine Aohana.' Yamamoto interrupted Tsuki's freak-out session, patting the brunette's shoulder and smiling at her warmly. 'I'm sure you and Bel-san make a great couple...'

'But we're not-!'

_SPLASH!_

Tsuki almost jumped at the sudden sound, her head snapping back to where Fran was standing, forgetting all about her previous embarrassment as her whole being was filled with shock and panic.

'_What the hell frog?_' The soaked blonde gasped as he sat up, glaring at the teen that was standing over him with a now empty water bucket in his pale hands.

'Yay... senpai is finally awake...' Fran cheered in his usual monotone as everyone else just stood frozen, staring at the ripper prince apprehensively and waiting for him to snap any moment now.

And snap he did.

'_You fucking toad_!' He hissed, a fan of knives instantly appearing in his hands. Before Fran got the chance to react, the prince kicked him off the bed, sending him toppling on the floor. He didn't have the time to get up, for Bel was standing in front of him in no time, his socked foot on the younger boy's chest as he glared, his knuckles turning white from gripping his knives as tightly as he was. 'I'm going to fucking _kill_ you. This time I really am, frog.'

Tsuki could only watch in horror as Bel raised his knife-filled hand, getting ready to stab Fran. The brunette was no expert, and she was no doctor, but no specialization was needed to know that even Fran, who somehow always managed to take his senpai's harassment without as much as a flinch, wouldn't be able to get out of something like this unscathed.

Before she could even _start_ to comprehend what exactly she was doing, Tsuki did something that could either be considered impossibly brave or unspeakably stupid; she ran right at the two assassins, knocking all of her weight into Belphegor and causing both of them to fall on the ground.

Bel gasped, his blue eyes unveiled as he stared up at the brunette that had just fallen on top of him, causing the blonde assassin prince to let out a loud "ooof!", his surprise obvious as he looked like he had just been snapped out of a trance.

'Ah... I...' Tsuki opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to think of something to say as her mind finally started to catch up to what exactly she'd just done. Oh shit. _Ohhhh shit_.

'Shishi... just what do you think you're doing, peasant?' The blonde asked, his bangs having moved back to cover his eyes again, surprisingly though, Bel didn't sound half as pissed as Tsuki had imagined him to be, especially after having done what she just did.

'Ah... well- I- I kind of- um- er- I...' The brunette cursed herself for stuttering, but her brains were rapidly starting to turn into a pile of goo-y mush as she realized in just kind of a position the two of them had fallen. Both of her hands were on his chest, practically pinning him down beneath her as the way her leg was positioned caused it brush against his... manhood...

Oh god, she could feel herself turning red now.

'Ushishi~'

* * *

><p>The car ride to the Vongola base was pretty awkward, if Tsuki did say so herself.<p>

No one really talked (mostly because they had nothing to sayto each other) and only Yamamoto (ever the optimist) tried fuel a conversation once or twice. He gave up hope though after Gokudera tried to blow up Bel (and almost took the car's roof with him) after the blonde made a rather snide remark about the Vongola Decimo. It would seem that, just like back in their high school days, the silver-haired bomber was extremely protective of his boss, he always used to beat up anyone that called Sawada Dame-Tsuna back then as well, after all.

Mammon mainly ignored them all, having made herself comfortable in Tsuki's lap and falling asleep there after a few hours of counting paper bills.

Fran too, was asleep by now, his almost fatal experience of waking Bel up this morning apparently having worn the teal-haired teenager out. His black frog hat kept bobbing against the side of Tsuki's head, and the brunette had to admit it was a bit annoying, but she didn't have the heart to wake the illusionist up to tell him that, he looked dead on his feet after all... had he not been getting enough sleep, or something?

Shrugging it off, Tsuki turned to the last Varia member inside the car, one "Prince The Ripper". Bel was currently arguing with Gokudera (again), this time about the music playing on the radio, it seemed like, no matter what the two of them did, they always disagreed. It was kind of funny how neither of them seemed to actually realize just how alike the two Storm guardians actually were...

They were both hot-headed and obviously admired their bosses (though Gokudera made that fact much more known than Bel did) just like they were both highly intelligent and stubborn as well, Tsuki was sure that, once Gokudera got something inside his mind (just like Bel) he'd go to impossible ends to achieve it. But perhaps the most obvious similarity between them, was that they were both extremely distrustful of people, but once you gained their trust though, you were stuck with them for life. It was so obvious actually, that the brunette was surprised no one else had ever noticed...

Or perhaps, the young woman mused, they _had_ noticed... but they were just too scared of the duo's combined wrath to admit it, Tsuki too, very wisely, kept her thoughts to herself.

Last, but not least, was the ever-cheerful Yamamoto Takeshi, had anyone told her that Namimori middle's most popular guy was a mafioso back in her high school days, she'd have laughed out loud, in fact, had it not been for having seen him fighting during the party, she'd still have her doubts even now. He just didn't _look_ or _act_ anything like a mafioso... Even now as she watched him, the man was all smiles and jokes... and there was definitely a calm air surrounding him, something that Tsuki was pretty sure no one in the Varia possessed. Cool? Sure, but not this... this feeling of_ tranquility_... hell, that didn't even make sense...

Tsuki sighed, she probably shouldn't be so surprised about Yamamoto though... considering who his boss was... the real shocker about the Vongola family was, after all, its boss. How Dame-Tsuna ever became a mafia boss, the brunette just couldn't understand... Mammon had mentioned something about him beating _Xanxus_ back in_ middle school_, but that couldn't be right, could it? Sawada had been a complete loser back then... he couldn't have possibly fought against _Xanxus_, of all people, and lived to tell the tale... not when he wasn't even able to chase off his own bullies, right? That just didn't sound logical...

The brunette shook her head, trying to think out things the logical way in the mafia, Tsuki was quickly coming to realize, was just going to give you a headache...

Turning her attention back to the kitten that had found its way to her lap, she smiled at the little fellow, "Uri" Gokudera had called her, and started to pet the cute animal, letting her curl up next to Mammon. It seemed like, for some reason, Uri liked everyone but her master, much to Gokudera's dismay.

'Haha, Uri seems to really like you, Aohana.' Yamamoto said cheerfully, smiling at the brunette. Tsuki just smiled back a bit as the car came to a stop, causing the black-haired mafioso to blink and look around before he perked up considerably. 'Ah, we're here!'

'Huh?' Tsuki peered her neck to look out of the window (not that she could see much with Fran's hat in the way), but saw nothing but a big endless forest, just like she had been for the last few hours now.

Maybe they'd go on on foot from here on?

Deciding that she'd probably find out anyway, the brunette woke up Mammon, and then Fran, before accepting Yamamoto's hand as he helped her up and out of the car.

Tsuki stretched, her body feeling quite numb from having been seated in a car, packed like a can of sardines for all this time, looking at Yamamoto curiously as he pulled out a little blue box, much like the one Bel had, only that that one read "Vongola" and not "Varia".

'You might want to pull your hood on, Aohana.' He advised, and Tsuki blinked, why would she need to pull her hood on? Regardless of how stupid it sounded, figuring that the black-haired guy must have some reason for telling her to do so, Tsuki did as she was told, noting that, in fact, Mammon and Fran had each made an umbrella illusion for themselves... It might've been cold, but it was definitely not going to rain any time soon. Just what was Yamamoto planning to do?

'Yosh, come out, Kojiru!' He said cheerfully, lighting the ring around his finger with a weird blue fire and slamming it inside the small box. A blue flash of light flew out immediately, shocking Tsuki as she started after it.

Was that... a swallow...?

Tsuki couldn't be sure, for the next thing she knew rain was pouring down like a waterfall, soaking them all. As nice as it had been of the Vongola rain guardian to advise her to pull her hood on (never mind the fact she was still soaked from head to toe within the first few seconds of rainfall) Tsuki would've appreciated it if she had gotten a bit more of a hint as to what to expect... still, it was better than nothing, she was positive that if that had been Belphegor, he'd have left her to find out on her own, he seemed to enjoy making her life hard, after all...

'Come on, peasant. We don't have all day.' The assassin prince's voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts, causing the brunette to blink in confusion as he grabbed her arm and started to yank her off to some place.

It was only then that she noticed the huge entrance to some underground place that had suddenly appeared, Tsuki gaped at it, she was positive that that had _not_ been there earlier, but no one else seemed to actually find that weird...

The brunette stayed silent, letting an equally soaked Bel lead her down the unfamiliar halls of what she could only guess was the Vongola's secret base. It was pretty impressive too, and had the blonde assassin been going at a slower pace, Tsuki would've undoubtedly taken the opportunity to marvel at her surroundings.

It was completely different from the Varia castle and all its majestic rooms filled with ridiculously expensive stuff, half of which a normal person person would never get the chance of ever laying their eyes on, not to mention actually use for anything...

Speaking of the Varia though... shouldn't the others be around here somewhere as well?

As if on cue, the whole underground structure was filled with the sound of a _very_ familiar yell.

'**VOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII****!**'

The floors shook, the paintings fell off the walls, any glass objects that had been decorating the place broke, that was the intensity of the sound wave Squalo's impossibly loud exclamation caused. Tsuki would've been surprised, had it not happened so many times already back at the Varia castle.

'About damn time, you scum!' The impossibly loud second-in-command of the Vongola's elite assassination squad shouted as he ran out of a room, looking quite pissed. 'You bastards were supposed to be here over four hours ago!'

'Ushishi, the prince sees the shark peasant is doing well...' Bel sniggered, grinning at his superior. 'What a pity...'

Squalo looked ready to "VOOOOOIIIII!" again but was quickly interrupted by a cheerful Yamamoto.

'Maa maa, calm down Squalo, no harm done... some things just happened and we got a bit sidetracked...' The Japanese swordsman said happily, seemingly unaware of the fact that Squalo was looking at him like he wanted to kill him then and there.

'By some things, the idiotic baseball guy of course means Bel-senpai was refusing to get up...' Fran quipped in, sounding uninterested and blissfully oblivious of the glare Tsuki was sure her accidental husband was giving him. 'Though you really should stop running around and screaming like that too much, long-haired commander... you might have a heart attack one of these days, being your age and all...'

'VOOOOIIIIII! Fran, you bastard! I'm only 33!'

'Ushishi, you sure don't look it with that old lady hair~' Squalo froze up, his eyes widening comically at Bel's comment.

'Old lady hair?' He repeated in a whisper, sounding utterly horrified. Bel sniggered as Fran nodded solemnly. 'VOOOOOOIIIIIII! My hair does not look like _old lady hair _you bastards!'

'You keep telling yourself that, long-haired commander... but deep inside you'll always know, at first sight 99% of the people on this Earth mistake you for an old grandma... I bet you could pass off as one too if you took off that sword, wore a pink dress and started knitting...'

'VOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIII! SHUT UP, FRAN!' Having shouted that out (which was probably heard by every single person within the base), the silver-haired swordsman turned around and stomped off, muttering things like "old lady hair", "preposterous" and "no missions for a month" as he went.

'Um... well...' Yamamoto spoke up after a while, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. 'Tsuna wants to speak to all of us...' He motioned towards Bel, Mammon, Fran, Gokudera and himself, all of whom (some more eagerly than others) nodded. 'Why don't you go find one of the girls, I'm sure one of them can lend you a change of clothes...'

'Um... alright...' Tsuki nodded, and the five of them were gone before she could even ask where exactly to find those "girls" she was supposed to be looking for. Sighing, the brunette decided to just wander around a bit... she was bound to find it in the end, right?

* * *

><p>Worng.<p>

Tsuki had been wandering around aimlessly for only god knows how long and all that she had managed to achieve was get herself even more hopelessly lost in the unbelievably big underground building... it was depressing.

Furthermore, now that the initial excitement had died down, all of the halls looked the same to Tsuki, she had long ago stopped admiring portraits, trying to memorize the ones she'd passed by instead in a hope of figuring out whether she was making any progress at all or was just aimlessly walking around in circles. Not to mention, her wet clothes were making her cold...

It was just as she was beginning to give up hope, that she actually caught sight of a person at the end of the hallway, she could've cried tears of joy.

'Excuse me!' The person stopped, turning to look back and giving Tsuki a curious look. Oh the joy...! It was a girl too!

'Can I help you?' The teenage girl asked as she looked the soaked woman up and down, Tsuki noticed a faint Chinese accent in the way she was speaking, but at the moment, she couldn't care less.

'Uh, yes... Yamamoto-san left before he got to tell me, uh, where can I find a change of clothes? He said something about some girls...'

The girl blinked a few times, before smiling.

'Oh, you must mean Kyoko-nee and Haru-nee...' She said kindly. 'They are in the kitchen, do you want me to show you the way?'

'You would do that? Oh thank you _so_ much, I must've been wandering around here for at _least_ an hour or something...' The black-haired girl smiled sympathetically.

'Well, come on then, it's this way...'

Taking an entirely different route from the one Tsuki had been following up until then, the pigtailed girl started to lead her towards the kitchens. She really couldn't wait to get out of these clothes... she had no desire to get sick, after all...

'My name is I-pin, by the way.' The girl suddenly spoke, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts. She smiled back at the girl, she really was a sweet girl, why, oh why, couldn't the Varia have a few members like that?

'Nice to meet you, I'm Tsuki.'

'Tsuki-san...' She tested the name out before turning back to the brunette. 'I haven't seen you around before, did you just recently join the family, or something?'

'Haha, kind of a funny story actually...' Tsuki chuckled, though she wasn't all that amused to be reminded of how she got caught up in all this in the first place. 'I'm not part of the Vongola though... I just kind of... got involved...'

I-pin gave her a questioning look, but didn't pry any further, instead announcing that they'd reached the kitchen.

'Kyoko-nee? Haru-nee?' She called out, pushing the door open. 'Are you in here?'

'I-pin-chan!' A delighted voice came from inside the room as the two women looked up from the table at which they'd been sitting, talking to a teenager wearing a cow-print shirt and drinking what looked like a glass of milk.

'Hello, um, would it be possible to get Tsuki-san a change of clothes? They got wet... somehow...' The girl smiled, motioning at the not-so-soaked-anymore brunette standing next to her, an hour (give or take a few) of wandering around left them simply moist by now.

'Oh... of course.' The caramel-haired woman said, turning to smile at Tsuki kindly. Did all people around here smile this much? Because Tsuki had gotten pretty unused to it after living with the world's grumpiest assortment of people for all these months...

'Hahi! You must be cold...!' The brown-haired woman exclaimed, jumping up as well. 'Don't worry, we'll find you something to wear...!'

Tsuki didn't have the time to react, for these "Haru and Kyoko" women dragged her away, showing her to the showers and letting her take a quick bath before lending her some of their own clothes, blabbering non-stop all of the while.

By the time they returned to the kitchen, Tsuki had learned many things about the two girls. Kyoko (the caramel-haired one) had apparently been her classmate once and was currently engaged to Tsu-kun (by whom, if the brunette wasn't mistaken, she meant Sawada Tsunayoshi). She was originally from Namimori, Japan, just like both of the brunettes as well and loved cakes.

Haru (the brunette) was apparently Kyoko's best friend, had gone to Midori private school (or something like that) and loved cosplaying. She too, loved cakes.

Both of the girls had babbled on and on about some "appreciation day", on which they apparently ate as much cake as they could stuff inside their stomachs, it wasn't an unappealing idea, Tsuki had to admit, but the brunette preferred not to try it out in case she couldn't get rid of the habit later on.

They weren't bad company... and it was actually quite nice to talk to normal non-mafia (in a way) people, they too, would apparently be staying behind in the base along with someone called "Bianchi-san" while everyone else went out to fight the Rossi family. It was kind of comforting to know she wasn't the only non-combatant... and it was certainly nice to be able to talk with people who saw things her way once in a while...

'Girls!' A purplish-haired woman shouted as she suddenly ran inside the room, interrupting Haru, Tsuki and Kyoko's discussion about whether strawberry shortcake, cheesecake or tiramisu was the best desert to have after a plate of good spaghetti bolognese. 'We've got a problem!'

She held up what looked like a cross between a squirming child and a cow, causing both of the girls to gasp "Lambo-chan...!" at the same time. How weird, wasn't the guy with the cow-print shirt called Lambo as well...?

'It would seem like his younger self fired the bazooka again, Lambo can't fight right now, so can you two keep an eye on him?' The woman, who Tsuki supposed was the "Bianchi" she'd heard so much about, asked. Both Haru and Kyoko immediately agreed, hurrying over to the child who was trying to wriggle, kick, bite and punch his way out of the woman's arms, taking what looked suspiciously like a pair of pink grenades out of his afro when he saw it wasn't working and attempting to chuck the them at the women.

Unfortunately, his plan kind of backfired, for he dropped the grenades, causing Bianchi to reflexively let go of him and jump back as well as a huge explosion occurred, shaking the whole of the kitchen as the poor kid was thrown back, strangely unhurt as he hit the wall and slowly slid down, apparently unconscious.

'Tsuki-san!' Kyoko suddenly cried out, her voice filled with panic as she started to run towards the brunette, pointing at something overhead. 'Watch out!'

Looking up, Tsuki barely had the time to catch a glimpse of the purple bazooka before she was engulfed by it.


	15. A glimpse at the future

_Looking up, Tsuki barely had the time to catch a glimpse of the purple bazooka before she was engulfed by it._

* * *

><p>Pink.<p>

That was all that the brunette could see, no Haru, no Kyoko, no kitchen and no weird bazooka flying right at her... only a weird pink cloud of smoke.

It was strange, because Tsuki wasn't even hurt... she'd have expected that, after being hit by a _bazooka_, of all things, she'd have been lucky to escape with her life intact... but... somehow, the brunette still felt perfectly fine, if not a little numb from having been sitting in a kitchen chair and talking about sweets for the past few hours.

There was no unbearable pain, no blasted-off body parts and no blood... nothing, just a whole bunch of thick pink smoke.

And it was everywhere too, disallowing her to see anything further than her own nose... just what had happened? She was positive that the purple bazooka had been heading straight at her... it couldn't have possibly missed her...

It was then, in that horrible moment of realization, that something inside Tsuki's mind clicked, her eyes widening in horror. No, _she couldn't be_...

But if she'd been hit... and she wasn't feeling anything... and was in an unknown place like this...

'Am I dead?' The brunette whispered, sounding truly horrified by the idea of it.

Tsuki frantically shook her head, not wanting to believe it, she couldn't be dead yet! She hadn't even reached her thirties...! And there were just so many things she still wanted to do! Like find herself a husband (well, one that wasn't a homicidal lunatic, at least)! And have kids...! And- and- she just couldn't be dead yet! There was no way...!

'I would hope not,' An unfamiliar voice suddenly snapped Tsuki out of her thoughts, causing her to blink as she actually realized that she was no longer surrounded by that pink smoke from earlier... she was, in fact, sitting inside what looked like a huge, luxurious living room, a cup of what Tsuki supposed was tea set on the table in front of her. 'My brother would kill me if his peasant princess were to die on my watch. Usheshe.'

'Huh?' Tsuki's head snapped up, her eyes widening as she was met with... Bel... in a way... this guy looked older though, and his hair was straight... that, and the tiara was on the wrong side of his head. 'Bel...?' Tsuki whispered, though she doubted it.

'Shesheshe, guess again peasant, a mere prince could in no way ever compare to a_ king_.'

Prince? King? What the _hell_ was he talking about?

'Who are you? And how did I get here?' Tsuki immediately asked, scooting away from the blonde man in front of her, the one that was grinning the same Cheshire cat grin as Belphegor always was. Were they related or something?

'Hmm, I suppose you wouldn't have known the king yet ten years ago...' He murmured, more to himself rather than Tsuki, sniggering that Bel-like laugh again, though he made it sound even creepier than Bel did, which was quite an accomplishment indeed. 'I, peasant, am king Rasiel. Remember that, I don't like being mistaken for my shadow. Usheshe.'

Shadow? Did he mean Bel with that? Ugh, Tsuki just didn't understand a thing. Who the hell was this "Rasiel" guy? He looked and acted uncannily like Belphegor, but then again, not exactly...

'As for how you got here, the king can only assume it was the Bovino's ten-year-bazooka...'

Ten-year-bazooka? What the heck was a ten-year-bazooka? The question must've shown up pretty obviously on her face, for the next moment the self-proclaimed "king" sniggered again, but, deciding to be unhelpful, didn't try to elaborate.

'Shesheshe, just sit there for a while, everything should go back to normal in about five minutes...'

'Ah...' Tsuki lamely nodded, still not understanding what exactly was going on. One moment she had been in the Vongola base's kitchen, and the next, she was sitting in a living room with a guy that looked and acted like Belphegor, only that he was under the impression of being a "king" rather than a prince...

It was just all so confusing, how had she even gotten there? Wherever this place was, it probably wasn't anywhere close to the base either... no, it looked more like the Varia castle, actually... but Tsuki knew it wasn't. The decoration was completely different and, as far as she knew, no such living room existed anywhere inside the big castle the insane Varia assassins lived.

She could've hardly teleported... she was no anime character, and nor was she Mammon, whom, the brunette was sure, would've been able to manage the feat if she put her head to it.

Perhaps this man in front of her had done something? Tsuki regarded him suspiciously as he sipped his tea, she couldn't see his eyes, so she didn't know whether or not he was looking back at her, but if he was, he was hiding it well, his mind seemed to be completely elsewhere as he sipped on without a care in the world.

'You're allowed to drink the tea, you know.' This "Rasiel" guy suddenly spoke up, startling Tsuki. He seemed to take some sadistic satisfaction in it. 'I'm sure you wouldn't poison the tea you made yourself, usheshe.'

'Eh? But... I didn't-' Tea? She'd made no tea... what was this weirdo talking about...?

Apparently, this Belphegor-lookalike was more like Bel than Tsuki had initially anticipated, for, just like the other blonde lunatic she knew, he found her utter confusion hilarious.

And she'd thought it wasn't humanly possible for someone to be creepier than Belphegor when he grinned that "I want to rip you apart and scatter your leftover body parts around the Sahara dessert" kind of grin... this guy, though he didn't seem to have any hostile intentions towards Tsuki, was somehow... even creepier...

'Shesheshe, Tsukiko hasn't changed much in ten years... the king can see why Belphegor decided to marry the peasant.' The "king" grinned, making Tsuki blink. Ten years? She'd met this guy during high school? Tsuki would think she'd remember meeting someone as eccentric as him...

And so he _did_ know Belphegor after all... did that mean they were indeed related? They had to be, with how alike they looked and acted... he couldn't be his father though... he didn't look like he could be old enough to have a 27-year-old son... maybe he was his cousin or something? She was ready to question the self-proclaimed king about it, when someone's shout interrupted her train of thought.

'Uncle Siel!' The voice of a young child rang through the building, causing both of the adults to look up and, in Tsuki's case, around. 'Do you know where my Nintendo DS is? I can't find it anywhere...!'

'Shesheshe, have you tried the kitchen? The king remembers you playing with it in there last night!' "Uncle Siel" shouted back, his head turned in the direction of the closed door, though he didn't bother to get up.

Muffled footsteps were heard and something that sounded like the child telling someone called "Orgelt" to check the kitchen. Tsuki turned back to Rasiel, opening her mouth to question what all that was about, when, suddenly, the pink smoke returned, engulfing her once again.

* * *

><p>'Ushishi, looks like the normal peasant is back~' The grinning face of Belphegor (and it really <em>was<em> Belphegor this time) was the first thing to come into Tsuki's line of vision. The brunette blinked, taking a look around.

She was standing in the Vongola base's kitchen again, most of the Vongola and Varia members gathered around her. The cow kid was no longer there, the teenager that shared his name standing next to her instead, the purple bazooka nowhere in sight.

'Wha-what happened...?' The brunette asked, looking around at everyone.

'I'm sorry for the scare, my younger self used to act before thinking...' The guy called Lambo said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

'Younger self...? What-'

'Ushishi~ and the you from ten years later was just as easy to fluster as you are now.' What exactly was he talking about? Just like the Rasiel guy, he was saying things that didn't make the least bit of sense. She wasn't even _there_ any time before ten seconds ago...

'Ah, you see...' Sawada started, smiling apologetically. 'Little Lambo accidentally hit you with the ten-year-bazooka...' Yeah, Rasiel had mentioned that part too, but what the hell was a ten-year-bazooka supposed to be? 'He used to be a bit of a crybaby as a child and... he kind of fired it on impulse... and well, what the ten-year-bazooka does, as the name implies, is, er, send the one that is hit to the world ten years in the future...' The brown-haired mafia boss tried to explain as simply as possible. 'So, basically, you and your future self switched places...'

'Eh?' Tsuki blinked. Future? She had time-traveled? But that couldn't be... this wasn't some science fiction movie, people couldn't just go back and forth between the past and the future... that wasn't possible...!

'Ushishi, it's true peasant.'

Damn... she'd been thinking aloud...?

'VOI! Just believe it woman! And you!' The swordsman turned to Levi, a smug grin on his lips. 'Pay up! I told you the two of them would hook up eventually!'

Belphegor sniggered as he watched Levi reach to his pockets, pulling out a few paper bills and handing them over to Squalo, grumbling all the while as he did so. Tsuki felt herself turn red, they had actually placed _bets_ on whether or not Bel and her would get together?

Oh god... and furthermore... just _what_ had her future self done to prove Squalo the winner? Nothing good, if the bigger than usual grin on Bel's lips was anything to go by.

* * *

><p>Hectic.<p>

That was the one word that could describe dinner that night.

Since it was already late, the Decimo deemed it too dangerous for the Varia to go back to their castle that same night, and suggested they stay over instead, so there'd at least be light when they had to drive back to the other side of Italy tomorrow morning.

Begrudgingly, the Varia had agreed, they were worn out from fighting anyway and a few hours of sleep before they had to get back home (which the Decimo had better repaired by the time they got there) would do them good.

So, while the mafiosi all took a quick shower to rid their clothes and skin off the dirt and blood they were caked in, the girls (Tsuki, Haru and Kyoko) prepared them some tasty traditional Japanese foods for dinner and I-pin went out to buy the steak Xanxus had asked for _(_"_If there is no steak on that table by the time I get back, you trashes are going to meet your creator_"_)._

Yamamoto had joined in halfway through to instruct them on how to make sushi taste better, and Bianchi had tried to help them as well, but was distracted by some guy called "Shamal" coming and hitting on her. After that point, she spent the majority of the night trying to shove a poisonous-looking cake down his throat.

Squalo and Gokudera's arrival was signaled by the swordsman's signature "VOOOOOIIIIIII!", as well as Gokudera's fluent string of Italian curses as he tried to get Uri off his face, apparently, the bomber had decided that his pet cat needed a bath, not such a smart idea when said cat seems to hate his guts.

That, had been about the time when Belphegor came in, and all hell broke loose.

'Ushishi~'

It had all started with a simple comment really...

'How pathetic, the Vongola storm guardian can't even command his own pet~' The blonde prince had sneered as he entered the kitchen, just seconds after Gokudera and Squalo had, holding a very wet Mink and towel drying the animal carefully.

Mink, unlike Uri, let his owner hold him without too much of a fuss, snuggling up to Bel and purring contently when the prince ran his fingers through his soft fur, checking to see if it was dry enough yet.

Watching the insane Varia assassin get along with his box animal so well, the silver-haired bomber must've felt the need to prove that he could be the boss of Uri as well, for he grabbed the poor thing and started to roughly dry it too.

That, it would seem, didn't go over all too well with his cat though, for, the next thing they all knew, Uri had somehow set the towel Gokudera was holding on fire, yowling loudly as she viciously tried to scratch his face off.

All the while, Belphegor sat in the seat he had just seconds ago dubbed his, calmly petting Mink now that he was done towel-drying him and sniggering at the sight of the bomber struggling with a mere kitten in amusement.

That was, until Uri decided that enough was enough and bolted straight towards the kitchen's exit, trying to escape the "towel of doom". It was quite an amusing sight actually, seeing Gokudera and Uri interact, but that was when _he_ came in. The door opened, and Uri, still trying to get away from the bomber chasing her, jumped at the newcomer, attempting to climb over him and proceeding to claw at his face as she did so... or that, at least, was what she _tried_ to do.

One glare from the man sent Uri scurrying right back to Gokudera at breakneck speed.

'Trash, where is my steak?'

Everyone in the room instantly froze.

I-pin wasn't back yet.

'Um...' Tsuki glanced back at Squalo, Bel, Yamamoto and Gokudera, hoping to get some kind of a hint of what she was supposed to do at a time like this. Squalo, who was at the moment standing out of Xanxus's line of vision, was waving his arms around animatedly, mouthing something over and over.

They should... _lie_ to him? They were going to die...! But then again... if they just came out and told him they didn't have any steak, their life would be done for either way...

Oh decisions, decisions...

'Well, _trash_?' Xanxus took a step forward, Tsuki took several back. She opened her mouth a few times, but no words came out. She was a _horrible_ liar, what was she supposed to tell him? Chances were he'd know it was a lie immediately anyway...!

Those who knew about her little predicament were quickly starting to look pale and/or worried. Bel actually looked torn up between letting whatever was to happen happen and coming to Tsuki's defense, that way risking spending a month or two (possibly more) in the hospital. If it wasn't for the dire situation, the brunette would've been touched.

'Uh... your steak... right...' Tsuki backed off a bit more, oh god, was that his gun he was reaching for? This was bad. 'Well, it, er, I-'

'Xanxus-san...! I have got your steak!' The brunette had never been more relieved to hear the Chinese girl's voice. Thank god!

I-pin ran inside the room, carrying her ramen delivery box and panting slightly as if she had ran all the way to the nearest restaurant(which was probably quite far, considering they were currently in the middle of nowhere).

She pulled the steak out, serving it to the temperamental boss of Varia as he sat down at the table, Tsuki handing him a fork and a knife as he started to eat.

Thankfully, the rest of dinner rolled by quite peacefully, considering that this was the Varia they were all eating with, after all.

There were a few disagreements ("VOOOIII! That was my onigiri, you bastard!" "Kufufu, was it? I had no idea, Superbi Squalo"), some bickering ("Love is everything! What would you be in a life without love? Without passion? Without-" "Money makes the world go around, everyone knows that. Love is just something weak people like to rely on, I am not going to fall that low.") and, of course, a bit of friendly rivalry ("Keep your hands to yourself, peasant! She's off limits!" "But I was only checking to see if the lady had any injur-" "Injuries my ass! From how the prince sees it, you were clearly trying to grope her!" "HIIII! Dr. Shamal! Belphegor-san...! Please don't kill each other!").

But, generally speaking, it was an enjoyable evening.

It was only when Bianchi suggested they try out her brownies though, that everyone was instantly up and spewing out excuses as to why they couldn't stay, immediately fleeing the room afterwards. Seeing as even the Varia was acting like that, Tsuki followed suit, supposing that they'd have a good reason for doing so.

'So... um...' The young woman hesitated as she followed Bel down the unfamiliar halls, looking around her as she bit her lip. She had been thinking for a while now and she just couldn't figure it out.

Wrapping her mind around the concept of time-traveling alone was confusing enough, but now, as if that hadn't been enough, her mind had also constantly been plagued by that one question. Who was the blonde her future self had been with? And why was she even with that Bel-lookalike, surely only one delusional assassin that was under the impression of being royalty was enough in her life?

She couldn't fathom why she would want to be acquainted with a second one.

Still, it had occurred to Tsuki during dinner, that, in reality, she really didn't know that much about the blonde assassin she'd married a few months ago. He knew stuff about her and her previous love-life (no matter how small) and probably many other things he hadn't bothered to bring up yet, possibly, things even _she_ didn't know about herself... he was one of the Varia's elite (and a genius, as he never forgot to rub in) after all. Getting information on a common person like Tsuki, was probably a piece of cake for someone like Belphegor.

And still, all that she knew about the blonde enigma that was Prince The Ripper, was that he had joined the Vongola's group of elite assassins at the tender age of eight, as unbelievable as that sounded. The brunette could recall him mentioning "his kingdom" a few times as well, but, just like all of the other Varia officers, wasn't sure what to make of it.

Other than the fact that no one had ever even heard of that so-called "kingdom" of his, Tsuki sometimes found herself internally debating about whether the blonde was actually a true prince, or simply delusional.

Most of the time, she found herself leaning towards the latter option. Most countries had stopped having kings and queens long ago, and even if they did, they usually didn't play too big of a role in governing the country...

To say that she wasn't curious about Belphegor and how he ended up the way he did (one could hardly become an insane blood-thirsty lunatic from one day to the other, after all), would've been a lie. Which was why, now that she had met someone that was more than likely related to him, her interest was piqued.

'I was just kind of wondering...' Tsuki murmured, turning to glance at the blonde prince walking a few feet in front of her. Despite of not being able to see the upper part of his face, the brunette knew that he was listening. 'Do you know someone called, um... Rasiel...?'

The question immediately halted Bel, causing Tsuki to almost bump into him as he came to an abrupt stop. He turned to the brunette, and Tsuki couldn't quite place the emotion on his face (or whatever could be seen of it, anyway).

'Bel?' She asked carefully, taking a step closer to the blonde. She figured he must indeed have known this Rasiel guy, if he had such and extreme reaction to the mere mention of the guy. Was it a touchy subject or something?

'Where did you hear that name?' The assassin demanded, and Tsuki was sure that under his long bangs, Belphegor was glaring at her. The grin was gone from his lips and replaced by a scowl, a pretty rare sight indeed.

Wow, it really _was _a touchy subject then...

'Um... I'm not sure...' Tsuki lied, avoiding to look at the blonde's face. She wasn't too sure if telling him about her adventure in the future would be a good idea. Whoever this Rasiel was, the brunette figured Bel wasn't all too fond of him.

It only intrigued her further.

'Why? Do you know someone called like that...?' Bel, however, was much too caught up in his own monologue to answer her questions quite yet.

'The prince bets it was one of those worthless peasants.' He seethed. 'It has to be, the Decimo and his guardians wouldn't know. Was it the frog? The prince will kill him.'

'Wha-! N-no...! Fran doesn't have anything to do with it!' Tsuki quickly said, shaking her head frantically, the last thing she wanted right now was to get the poor boy in trouble. 'I was just- well- i-it was just- who is he?'

'Hmmm...' Bel seemed to think for a few moments, absently running a hand through Mink's soft fur as he thought. Suddenly, his usual grin was back. 'The prince supposes he could tell you a bit about himself...'

Tsuki blinked. Seriously?

'Ushishi, you don't need to look so surprised, it's not as if it's a secret~'

_Could have fooled me_, Tsuki thought, but wisely remained silent. She only hoped that, whatever he was about to tell her, he'd leave the gory details to a minimum, for when Bel was involved, it was futile to hope for something without blood, knives and violence.

'Ushishi, did you know that the prince was a killer even before joining the Varia?' Tsuki blinked at the strange question, turning to Belphegor and spending a few moments to just look at him. Sure, she had imagined that he couldn't have joined the Vongola's elite assassination squad without some proof about being qualified to be an assassin, but the thought of an eight-year-old child killing people, killing anything, made her sick.

'In fact, his first kill was the queen, she died giving birth to the prince and his older twin brother.'

Had it not been for the remark about his mother having died at childbirth, Tsuki's first thought would've been "_Oh god, no! There are **two** of them?"_. But as it was, she couldn't bring her attention to focus on the fact that Bel had an older brother, _not really_. It was something else that caught the brunette's attention and made her scowl.

'But, if she died during childbirth, then that's hardly your fau-'

'That doesn't change the fact it happened, does it?' Belphegor interrupted, the cool tone his voice had taken on instantly shutting Tsuki up so that he could continue. 'Anyway, the king was always busy with ruling his kingdom and he didn't have time for anyone that wasn't the heir to his throne.' Tsuki didn't fail to notice the sneer in his voice as he talked about his father and brother with obvious resentment, but she wisely stayed silent once again. 'The prince and his brother grew up being watched over by maids mainly, but most of them were way too busy running around and completing errands assigned to them by the king anyway, so the princes were often left alone to do whatever they wanted.'

Having reached their room, Belphegor threw the door open and made a beeline for the bed, plopping down and setting Mink on the ground. The box animal hurried over to Tsuki, who picked it up, closing the door behind her and taking a seat on the second bed in the room. She turned to Belphegor, patiently waiting for the blonde to go on.

'I suppose we grew tired of our only company being each other at some point, from the moment we could start to walk and talk, we were at each other's throats.' Belphegor grinned, as if remembering something pleasant, but before Tsuki got to ask him about it the blonde returned to narrating, and this time, he was scowling. 'Having an identical twin was like having a copy of yourself walking around, so we started to try and prove that we were superior than one another...'

'It started out as insults and innocent little pranks, but since no one was watching anyway, the situation started getting a little... ushishi, out of hand...' Belphegor sniggered, completely engrossed in the telling of his story. 'We started throwing stones at each other, but that soon changed to boulders... shishishi, by the time we were six we were chucking knives at one another.'

_Knives_? Tsuki was horrified, just what kind of parenting was that? Shouldn't at least _someone_ have noticed the two kids throwing _boulders_ and _knives_ at each other?

'But no matter if the prince played fair or cheated, if he had a plan or just acted on impulse... Rasiel always won.' And then he suddenly grinned again, but it wasn't just any everyday Bel-grin, it was one of those insane, blood-thirsty ones. 'Ushishi, but then, one day, the tables turned, and the prince won. He crushed his cockroach of a brother and killed everyone else inside the castle. Ushishi, they deserved it, the prince hated them all anyway~'

Tsuki could only stare at Bel, her eyes wide in horror as he talked about murdering his family with a smile on his lips. She'd even daresay he sounded happy, he most probably was too...

Belphegor...

It was the name of a demon. The brunette had never thought of it, but that name was just so...

Fitting.


	16. The car ride of hell

'Well then... h-have a good ride...' The Vongola Decimo awkwardly said as the seven core members of Varia stood just outside of the Vongola underground base, exchanging goodbyes with some of their acquaintances whom they'd soon be leaving behind.

"Exchanging goodbyes", of course, consisted mainly of Fran insulting Mukuro (which would usually get him stabbed by the blue-haired man's trident), Gokudera and Bel trying to rip each other's throats out and Squalo shouting at Yamamoto about something concerning swordsmanship as the other just laughed it off.

Xanxus was just sitting aside, leaning his back against the black limousine as he waited for all the "trashes" to finish saying their goodbyes, glaring at Tsuna as he did so. Even if he was technically his boss, the younger male felt himself cracking under the intensity of the scarred man's look. He didn't dare look back at him, not even for a moment.

'Haru-chan and I prepared you some lunch for on the way.' Kyoko told Tsuki as she passed the brunette a bento box, smiling kindly.

The three girls were standing a bit further away from all the commotion, sharing some small-talk as they waited for the assassins to be done with whatever it was they were doing so that they could be off.

Smiling back at her ex-classmate, Tsuki accepted the lunch box and put it in her handbag so that she could eat it later.

'It was nice seeing you again, Kyoko-san. And it was really nice meeting you as well, Haru-san.'

'Yes, Haru thinks so too!' The brunette quickly agreed, smiling at Tsuki. 'We really should meet up again some time to go out shopping or something...!'

Kyoko nodded, apparently liking the idea as well.

'Oh, I'd really love-'

'VOOOOIIII! WOMAN! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, WE'RE LEAVING!' Blinking at the source of all the noise (Squalo, of course), the brunette flashed her new friends an apologetic smile.

'I really shouldn't ignore that call...' Tsuki sheepishly admitted, quickly hugging each of the girls before hurrying off towards the limousine all of the Varia was already getting into.

* * *

><p>This time, Tsuki had been prepared for a car ride with the Varia. Or that, at least, was what she'd told herself.<p>

The truth was that, a car ride with _whole_ the Varia as opposed to only Bel and the two illusionists, was way more hectic than the brunette had been prepared for. Though, quite truthfully, a little voice in the back of Tsuki's mind told her that she should've been expecting it. After all, what else other than catastrophic could a car ride be when not only Bel and Fran were sitting next to each other, but some idiot had forgotten to stock the car with Xanxus's favorite booze as well? Or any booze at all, for that matter.

Quite the catastrophic ride indeed...

'VOOOOOIIII! You bastard! Get that stupid ferret off me!' Squalo shouted out in pure rage as he shook his arms around wildly, trying to get a certain white mink off of his face. The animal had originally been seated on top of his head, apparently having found Squalo's long soft silver tresses of hair to be comfortable, but the swordsman had quickly tried to push the animal off.

Key word: _tried_.

It would seem that, just like Bel, his mink could be stubborn little bastard when it wanted to.

'VOOOOIII! Do something about that shitty box animal of yours, you scum!'

Squalo was currently having a death match with Bel's Visone Tempesta, the storm mink. Luckily for the swordsman, the animal had yet to resort to using those weird flames that were leaking out from its ears and surrounding it's furry tail, but that didn't mean it wasn't scarring the Varia's second-in-command all the same.

As unbelievable as that sounded, Squalo seemed to be fighting a losing battle against the smallest box animal any of the Varia members owned.

'Ushishi, no can do, commander Squalo~ wouldn't want to ruin Mink's fun, now would we?' The blonde prince sniggered, his arm around Tsuki's shoulders as he watched the fight grow more and more heated by the second. Pissing Squalo off really was one of life's best entertainments... especially when the older male couldn't leap at him and try to beat the crap out of him for whatever it was he'd said or done.

'Besides, ushishi, Mink is a mink, peasant. Is your tiny mind too small to comprehend that? Or did boss finally cause you some serious brain damage when he threw that glass of wine at your head this morning?'

'VOOOOIIII! Shut up and do something useful, you bastard!' Squalo screamed, swinging his arms around wildly and accidentally chopping off a part of Lussuria's Mohawk.

'Squ-chan!' The older man gasped in horror, reaching out to feel the part of his head on which the bright red Mohawk had once been, the eyes hidden underneath his red sunglasses wide. 'Look what you did to my hair...! Do you have any idea how long that will take to grow back?'

'Ushishi, yeah S_qu-chan_, look what you've done now...'

'WHY YOU-'

Before the swordsman could finish whatever it was he'd been intending to say though, he was cut off by something hitting his head, hard.

Apparently, Xanxus had grown annoyed of all the noise in the car, and decided to chuck the nearest object that he could find (which happened to be the GPS) at his second-in-command's head, causing the loud swordsman to let out yet another one of his infamous "VOOOOOIIIIIIIIII!" cries.

'Trash. Shut up. Now.'

Instantly, everyone grew quiet, almost impossibly so. Mink, realizing what would be best for him, let go off the swordsman that he'd been fighting and quickly returned to Bel's lap, curling up there in case that Xanxus decided he wanted to chuck something else at Squalo and hit the box animal by accident instead.

Xanxus glared at Tsuki and the assassins for a while longer and, finally having been convinced that they'd keep their mouths shut, turned back in front of him.

Simultaneously, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.

'Ushishi, the prince thinks Mink should return to his box...' Belphegor said, sounding a bit shaken as he took his Varia box weapon out. Mink looked up at his owner, hidden eyes looking up at hidden eyes before, with a flash of red flames, the mink got back into the box.

'That was close...' Lussuria murmured, his eyes trained on the Varia boss. Mammon nodded in agreement as she looked up from the calculator she had somehow produced a few hours ago, during breakfast.

The hooded infant had not let go off it once, punching in numbers the one after the other, calculating only-god-knows-what... Belphegor had only shrugged when Tsuki asked him what the baby was doing, "probably something money-related" he'd said, not really sounding interested.

The brunette supposed Bel was correct too, Mammon never did anything that was _not_ money-related, it was like her policy or something...

That was when the dreaded words left Xanxus's mouth.

'Trash, get me some booze.'

Everyone that sat inside the car immediately froze once again, stopping whatever it was they were doing (and yes, that included Mammon putting her calculator down) and exchanging meaningful looks. They had all, of course, taken notice of the lack of alcohol inside the car ages ago, but none of them dared speak up. The first one to do so, would undoubtedly be reduced to ashes in a matter of mere seconds.

'Voi... we can't tell him the truth...' Squalo actually _whispered _for once, causing Tsuki to blink in surprise. She'd actually started to believe the Varia's loud swordsman was physically incapable of being quiet... who wouldn't with how he always shouted his lungs out everyday?

'Then what do you suggest we do, peasant?' Bel hissed, leaning in closer to the swordsman to avoid being overheard by their boss. 'There's not a drop of alcohol in here.'

'Mu... and there isn't a town anywhere nearby here either...' Mammon murmured, glancing up to take a look out of the window. It indeed didn't look like anyone could be living anywhere close to wherever it was they currently were. 'We'll need to get to somewhere where someone's actually _living _to find a liquor store.'

'And we don't have any steak to get his mind off drinking either...' Lussuria added, visibly frowning at the predicament they were currently all in. It wasn't hard to figure out this was a bad situation to be in...

'At this rate, boss will be displeased...' Levi butted in, sounding very worried indeed. The others ignored him though, trying to think up a plan that would keep them from getting blown to tiny little pieces.

'Oi, trash. My booze.'

The assassins all exchanged look, it wasn't hard to tell that they, along with Tsuki, were growing more nervous by the second.

'Hey bride woman.'

'Huh?' Looking up at Fran, Tsuki gave the teen a curious look. The illusionist nodded at her bag.

'What do you have in there?'

'Eh? Oh, well, just a bento Haru and Kyoko-san gave me... why...?' Fran and Mammon exchanged a look before apparently nodding in silent agreement. It was safe to say that Tsuki was lost.

'Did they give you something to drink as well?' The arcobaleno questioned, looking up at the woman in whose lap she was sitting. Slowly, Tsuki nodded.

'I think so... but it's probably just orange juice or something, nothing with alcohol...'

'It doesn't matter, just give it here.' The brunette raised an eyebrow but nodded anyway, quickly taking the bottle of orange juice out of her bag and handing it over to Fran, wondering just what he had in mind.

The illusionist just stared at it for a while, an illusion suddenly covering the bottle of orange juice and turning it into what Tsuki supposed was a bottle of whatever alcoholic drink the Varia boss wanted. Her eyes widened.

'Y-you're not actually going to-'

'Smells alright...' Squalo murmured, having taken the bottle from Fran's hands and giving it a sniff. 'It's worth I try, I suppose...'

'Just wait a minute! You can't possibly be thinking of-' Levi suddenly jumped up, starting to protest loudly against what the others were undoubtedly planning. Before he could ruin their plan, Lussuria jabbed the man in what Tsuki supposed was one of the body's vital pressure points, for the next moment the Varia thunder guardian fell down again, this time unconscious.

Tsuki preferred to stay silent.

Five pairs of eyes watched with bated breath as the Varia boss took the "tequila" from Fran's hands (it was decided that since this was his idea, he should be the one to risk his neck giving the bottle to Xanxus), scrutinizing it for a little while before shrugging and taking a swig.

Not even three seconds after the pseudo-liquor touched the Varia boss's lips, the man froze, his dark red eyes narrowing dangerously. He gulped the sip he'd taken down, but didn't drink anymore, turning to Tsuki and his guardians instead.

'What the _fuck_ is this shit?' He growled, the glare he was giving them all causing Tsuki to sink back and cling onto Belphegor as she whimpered slightly.

_Oh, she'd known this would be a bad idea..._

* * *

><p>That day, Tsuki discovered something new about the boss of Varia.<p>

When it came to his booze, Xanxus could not even be fooled by one of the world's strongest illusionists. The brunette supposed it was some kind of a weird sixth sense, one that only someone that spent his day drinking out countless bottles of wine, cognac, tequila and vodka (all in one night, she might as well add) without getting drunk could have. Hell, most of the time he didn't seem to even get a hangover, now that Tsuki thought of it.

Another thing that the brunette discovered about the scarred mafioso that day, was that he did not take kindly to his liquor having been changed to orange juice.

'VOOOOIIII! You stupid boss! How the hell are we supposed to get home now?' Squalo shouted out at the top of his lungs, glaring at Xanxus as he pointed his sword at their car... or well, what had once _been _their car...

In his rage upon having realized that he'd been tricked, everything had quickly gone from bad to worse.

Xanxus had just glared at the lot of them for a long moment, Tsuki shrinking back and trying to make herself invisible, for once not actually minding the blonde's arm around her shoulders. In all honesty, she surprisingly felt a lot better knowing that Belphegor was there next to her... even if he might not be able to prevent his boss from killing them all.

Looking back, Tsuki realized just how _lucky_ she was to have even escaped Xanxus's rampage alive, much less in one part. She had Belphegor to thank for that, she may have gotten a few burns and bruises, but other than that she was still in perfect condition compared to what some of the assassins got.

'Shut up trash.' Xanxus growled from where he stood, leaning his back against a half-destroyed tree. 'It wouldn't have happened if you trashes just gave me my booze.'

'VOOOOOIIIIII! It's not our fault that some idiot forgot to stock the car, you shitty boss!'

Had Levi actually been awake, Tsuki was sure he'd have jumped to Xanxus's defense. But as things were, the Varia thunder guardian was still unconscious (too much blood loss, Tsuki supposed) and Lussuria was currently busy with Bel, who was refusing to let the man heal him as he mumbled something about his royal blood in between his sniggers.

'Mu... what are we going to do now anyway?' Mammon asked as she appeared (she'd disappeared the moment she saw Xanxus was about to take his X guns out) and perched herself on Tsuki's shoulder. 'I think it's safe to assume we aren't going to be using the car anytime soon...'

And indeed they wouldn't... it would be kind of hard to do so with half of it's engine blown to ashes, after all...

'Voi, and that shitty coward of a driver left as well...' Squalo grumbled, causing Tsuki to sweatdrop. Quite truthfully, she couldn't really blame the guy, had she not known the Varia long enough to know that this kind of thing happened on a daily basis back at their headquarters, she was sure she'd have tried to run as well.

'And what exactly would we be with a driver when we don't have a car, idiotic long-haired commander?' Fran questioned from his position on the ground. Turning to look at him, Tsuki couldn't help but be surprised at how... _normal _the boy looked now that he wasn't wearing the huge black (and, in Tsuki's opinion, adorable) frog hat the insane assassin prince always made him wear. The teal-haired teenager had been most happy to realize that his hat had been destroyed by Xanxus's flame of wrath when he'd ducked to avoid being killed by his boss earlier that same day.

Not that it lasted long anyway, Bel announced he'd be getting him a new one as soon as they reached the Varia headquarters.

'Vooiii! Shut up Fran! If you hadn't come up with that stupid idea to try and trick the shitty boss-'

'If I hadn't come up with that so-called "stupid" idea, long-haired commander, we'd all be dead by now.' The teen deadpanned, interrupting his superior as he stared at him apathetically.

Knowing that to some extent Fran's words were true, the swordsman shut up, turning his attention to Lussuria and Bel's fight and vending off his frustration by shouting at them instead.

'Mu... I better restrain Bel before he kills Lussuria...' Mammon murmured, pushing herself off Tsuki and raising a few inches above the brunette's head. 'He's one of the only combatants we have that has got the sun's activation power... we could lose a lot of men if he died, and if too many of our men die, our income will be lowered...'

This, apparently, was enough of a reason for the arcobaleno to whip up an illusion of some big blue tentacles that came out from right under her cloak, wrapping themselves around the ripper prince and forcing him to stay still.

'Mammon-chan...! Thank _so_ much, you just saved me from a whole lot of trouble!'

'Mu, you can repay me by depositing the amount of an S-rank mission in my Swiss bank account.' Giving the boxer a look that could easily be interpreted as "you better deposit the money or you'll be seeing nothing but nightmares for the next three weeks", the arcobaleno turned back to Tsuki, making herself comfortable in Tsuki's arms as Lussuria busied himself with using his box animal to heal Bel.

'So, how _are_ we going to get back to our castle?'

The arcobaleno's question caused all of the assassins to exchange a look, she had of course already asked this but now that everyone (read: Bel) was in their right mind again, they had the time to actually _really_ think of the question.

How _were_ they going to get to the Varia castle?

'Uh... we could call the Decimo to pick us up...?' Fran casually suggested, looking up at his colleagues as if it was the most obvious solution ever, which really, it was. All the Varia assassins and Tsuki could do was stare, just stare, their expressions completely blank. There was a long silence before-

'VOOOIII! How the hell didn't I think of that earlier?'

'Ushishi, that's because the peasant is an idiot~'

'You didn't think of it either, senpai... you're in no position to call somebody else an idiot when you're one yourself...' Bel promptly stabbed Fran for that little remark, glaring daggers at the young teen.

'The prince is no idiot, you frog. The prince is a prince.'

'VOOOOIIII! Will you shut up? Which of you trashes has a cell phone?'

Fumbling through their pockets for a while, Lussuria was finally able to spot his cell phone first, giving it to Squalo, who immediately called the Vongola.

They were (for once) all silent as they waited for the call to connect. A small tune started to play, notifying them of a message having just been received.

Raising an eyebrow, Squalo looked down at the screen, taking a moment to read the text.

'VOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIII! THIS USELESS PIECE OF SHIT!' He suddenly screamed out at the top of his lungs, shaking all of Italy as he did so. 'IT'S OUT OF RANGE!'

* * *

><p>Spending the night outside, in the middle of nowhere with no company other than a bunch of highly feared and dangerous assassins, had not been within Tsuki's plans of what she wanted to do that night...<p>

In fact, all that she'd wanted to do as soon as she got back to the Varia castle, was watch an episode of her favorite anime, have some dinner and go straight to bed. None of that included sitting outside in the freezing cold and almost getting killed several times thanks to the assassins surrounding her arguing with one another.

Nope, that was definitely not what she had been hoping to do that night...

'The prince is bored~' The blonde assassin prince complained rather loudly as he sat next to Tsuki, lazily petting the box animal curled up next to him and looking at his teammates expectantly.

They were all gathered around a fire started by Bel's Visone Tempesta, trying to remain warm as they were all wrapped in thick (illusionary) blankets provided to them by Mammon after they agreed to pay her the ridiculous amount of money she demanded for them. Tsuki, having no money (and thus being unable to afford a blanket), had been forced to share with Bel. Not that he had minded much.

'Voi! And what the hell are we supposed to do about that, you bastard?' Squalo snapped as he glared at Belphegor, it was obvious that he himself wasn't having the time of his life either.

'The prince doesn't care, as peasants it's your job to keep the prince happy...' The blonde muttered almost poutingly. The assassins surrounding him (spar Xanxus, who was still glaring at everyone grumpily since he had no alcohol to drink) sighed, some of them visibly rolling their eyes.

'Mu, you're no child anymore, Bel...' Mammon murmured as she looked up at the prince from where she was cocooned in her own blanket. Tsuki couldn't help but be a bit jealous of the little illusionist at that point, seeing as she was so small, the same blanket that barely concealed Belphegor and her could easily be wrapped around the infant's little body several times. 'You seriously need to stop acting like one...'

'What's with that? You never told the prince that up until a few years ago, you're starting to become uncute too, Mammon...' The baby just sighed, shaking her head. There was no reasoning with Bel, the guy was a child trapped inside an adult's body... only with the added perversion no child ought to have, of course.

'Ah, I know...! How about we exchange stories by the campfire, it's a kind of family thing to do...!' At his suggestion, all of the assassins turned to either glare at Lussuria or give him a raised eyebrow accompanied by a "really?" look.

'That's plain stupid.' Bel groaned. 'Not to mention boring...'

'Uh... we could... play a word game...?'

'The prince is twenty-seven, not eight.'

'A card game? I'm sure Mammon or Fran-chan could-'

'Not interested.'

'I could make you an illusion of a book, you know. I'll even give you a 10% discharge if you just stop complaining.' Squalo snorted.

'Bel, read?' He smirked, sounding as if he'd just heard the most funny thing he had in ages. 'Hell would have to freeze over first.'

Bel scowled at the swordsman, not liking the latter's amusement at his expense.

'The prince reads books too...' He protested, though it didn't sound all that convincing.

'Yeah, sure, once every two years.'

'Mu, anyway, shouldn't we get going to sleep already? We've still got a long way to go until we reach the castle... being dead on our feet won't speed up the process much...'

'Mammon-chan is right, I need my beauty sleep...'

'Right, let's just put this shitty fire ou-'

'Don't...!' Tsuki exclaimed, halting the swordsman who was already halfway through pulling his Varia box weapon out of his uniform. All of the assassins turned to look at her weirdly and the brunette chuckled nervously.

'Ushishi, is the peasant afraid of the dark, perhaps?'

'The dark? No, I just thought-'

'Voi! You've got no right to be speaking, Bel!' Squalo smirked, pointing his blade in their direction. 'I can still quite distinctly remember you keeping me up for hours because you didn't like the dark back when you first joined the Varia!'

'T-the prince was eight years old...!'

'Mu, yes, I remember that quite well too...' Mammon murmured, ignoring Bel's protests and petting Phantasma's head as she went on. 'I earned quite a lot of money for being awoken at absurd hours of the night to check for monsters under the bed...'

Tsuki turned to look at Bel, who was protesting loudly, trying shut his teammates up as they joined in the one after the other, describing memories of little Bel. Was that... a tint of _pink_ on the assassin prince's cheeks? He was actually... _embarrassed_?

Granted, it were mostly memories that, had that been her, she wouldn't have wanted people to know about them either, but it just wasn't like Bel to, dare she day it,_blush_, of all things.

And what was more... who would've ever guessed that Belphegor, Prince The Ripper, could've ever been so _normal_...? Drawing on people's faces while they were asleep, getting sick from eating your weight in sweets and keeping others up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare... they were all things Tsuki had done at least once while she was still a kid, but Belphegor... the possibility of him ever doing things like that had never even crossed her mind.

'VOOOIII! Just a warning, woman! _Never, _and I mean _ever_, agree to have a snowball fight with this bastard!' Squalo shouted out, pointing his sword at Bel once more.

Tsuki was sure it was well past midnight by now, but she didn't feel the least bit tired as she listened to the Varia members telling her random little things she'd never known about Belphegor.

'The lunatic asked me to play the stupid game with him once when he was ten, voooiii! I almost got turned into Swiss cheese thanks to those shitty little knives of his! His snowballs were filled with them!'

'Shut up peasant, my brother and I always used to play like that. It's more interesting that way.'

'You threw snowballs filled with _knives_ at each other?' Tsuki asked in disbelief. And here she thought it couldn't get any worse than the stones, boulders and knives on their own...!

'Ushishi, not necessarily...' Bel sniggered, grinning widely now that the subject was changed to something that he actually enjoyed. 'It could be anything we had on us at the moment, stones, needles, forks, knives, random pointy things we happened to find, ushishi, you know, improvising.'

'Voi, I told you that that kid was fucked up the moment he showed up at our doorstep...'

'Hmm, yes, he gave us quite a scare, didn't he?' Lussuria murmured, staring into the fire absently, as if thinking about something.

'VOI! Of course, a brat we had never before seen in our lives just suddenly turned up covered in his brother's blood, grinning like a fucking psychopath and asking to join the Varia! Mental I tell you!'

'Ushishi~ the prince is no such thing...'

Sighing, Squalo pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Whatever.' He growled. 'We need to actually get some sleep before sunrise sometime.'

Receiving several nods of agreement from the people around him, the Varia's second-in-command took his box weapon out, and this time, Tsuki didn't stop him from putting out the fire created by the blonde assassin prince. It would be too dangerous to leave storm-class dying will flames (as Bel had called them) unsupervised like that while they slept...

Tsuki moved a bit closer to Bel as a cool breeze swept by them, causing her to shiver. This was going to be long night...


	17. Drunken memories

_Tsuki couldn't move an inch, her eyes wide as she stared at the scene unfolding right in front of her, her mouth dropping open in pure shock and disbelief. The plastic bag she'd been holding slid out of her hand, hitting the ground with a dull _thud_._

_'Diego...?' She whispered, just loud enough for the couple on the couch to hear her._

_The blonde gave a startled gasp, his eyes widening as he pulled away from the woman seated on his lap, his green eyes spotting the brunette standing by the doorway almost instantly._

_'Shit!' He hissed, pushing the redhead off him as he jumped up, rushing over to Tsuki and leaving the former of the two looking rather disappointed. 'It's not what it looks like...!' He was quick to exclaim, reaching out to grab the brunette. Tsuki pulled away though, her mind still trying to catch up to the fact that she'd just stepped into _her boyfriend_ tearing the clothes off some random stranger she'd never before seen in her entire life._

_'What- what is the meaning of this...?' She managed to choke out, her eyes darting back and forth between Diego and the woman that was sitting on the couch. She already knew the answer, she just didn't want to believe it._

_'Baby, I- I can explain...'_

_'Can you? Because it seems pretty obvious to me what happened here...' Despite all of the brunette's efforts, she couldn't help but let her voice crack a bit at the end. She'd gotten off work early today, and the brunette had wanted to surprise Diego. She'd even gone all the way till the store just to get him some of his favorite snacks..._

_'Tsuki-'_

_'Don't, I don't want to hear it.'_

_Before the blonde could stop her, Tsuki turned around and ran right out of the apartment. She descended the stairs as fast as she possibly could , blinking back the tears that had started to build up in the corner of her eyes. She just wanted to put as much distance between Diego and her as possible._

_Still, somewhere in the back of her naive little heart, the brunette had genuinely hoped that her boyfriend would run after her, ask her to come back, or even call out to her at least... He did nothing. And that hurt like hell._

* * *

><p><em>Tsuki had never been one for drinking. Even as a teenager, when her classmates would pester her to come to parties until she gave in, the brunette never had more than one or two drinks a time. She had a very low alcohol tolerance (as she had found out the first time she ever went out drinking) and didn't believe it solved anything at all.<em>

_In fact, it usually caused more harm than good. Many car accidents happened because people were driving while drunk, and a lot of relationships and families were ruined due to drinking problems._

_Just this once though, Tsuki couldn't help it. Anything that could get her mind off that damn bastard._

_She wasn't sure exactly when it had all happened, but sometime between leaving Diego's apartment and deciding to drink herself into oblivion, all Tsuki's feelings of betrayal and hurt had been converted into anger. Pure, burning fury._

_How _dare_ he do that to her?_

_She would've understood if he'd had the dignity to just break up with her. She wouldn't have tried to stop him, she, unlike him, had only wanted him to be happy. It would've hurt, but Tsuki wouldn't have made him stay with her if he didn't want to._

_But for him to go and _cheat_ on her... to bring that woman into _their_ apartment... she so wished she'd hung around a little longer, just to punch the asshole right in the face. Hopefully break his nose or something as well._

_Sighing, Tsuki shook her head, ordering the strongest drink available as she sat down at the bar, obviously still disgruntled. Quite honestly, the brunette had no knowledge of alcohol, she figured the bartender would know though... since it was his job and all._

_'Here you go, miss.' Placing the glass on the counter, Tsuki nodded at him, taking the glass and giving it a sniff before gulping it all down in one go._

_Whoa, shit, maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all..._

_'Ushishi, had a bad day, peasant?' Blinking a couple of times, Tsuki placed the glass back down in order to turn to the person who was sitting next to her, looking quite amused as he watched her._

_The brunette was surprised that she hadn't noticed him earlier, especially since she'd seated herself right next to him._

_He was about her age, she supposed, and really, _really_ handsome. His golden messy hair was sticking out in every direction imaginable, somehow managing to keep his _tiara_ (why the hell he was wearing that, Tsuki had no idea) balanced in the mess of blonde that was his hair._

_He was also wearing some kind of a uniform the brunette realized, seeing as she couldn't recognize it though, Tsuki supposed he was not from around there._

_'You bet.' The brunette snorted, rather unlike herself. 'I haven't had such a crappy week in years.'_

_'Ushishi.' That weird laugh-like sound was all the encouragement that was needed to send Tsuki into a full-blown rant._

_'If I could, I would _so _quit my job.' The brunette grumbled moodily, pausing for a moment as she asked for a refill. She wasn't even exactly sure just how much money she had on her, but something told her it wasn't all that much._

_Oh to hell with it, Tsuki thought, she'd figure out how exactly she'd pay when she actually crossed that bridge._

_'My boss is a complete jackass.' She declared. 'All he ever does is boss people around. And his wife is even worse...! She thinks she's the goddamn queen of England or something, always strutting around the place and criticizing everyone, it's not even her shop!'_

_Tsuki huffed, letting out all that had been left unsaid ever since she first started working in that little supermarket in the heart of Venice._

_'And I've got this colleague, ugh, he's so annoying...! He's always slinging around cheesy pickup lines at every single girl that he sees! But, in all honesty, all he really does is creep all our customers away...!'_

_Clearly angry at remembering her colleague, Tsuki slammed the glass back on the counter with a bit more force than initially required. Turning to the blonde, the brunette found him grinning at her widely... sniggering that creepy laugh of his again. Oh... hold on... that wasn't a grin, it was a smirk._

_'Ushishi, the prince's boss is an alcoholic, his second-in-command is always shrieking like a banshee and his assigned partner is a greedy baby that is always trying to rob everyone.'_

_Tsuki blinked, just staring at the grinning stranger sitting next to her for a few moments. Wow, and here she thought_ she_ had it bad..._

_'Well, you can't possibly stoop lower than me in the romance department, if that makes you feel any better.' The young woman grumbled, making the blonde snigger, grinning as he turned to face her._

_'How so?'_

_'Because every damn guy that I meet, is either a jerk or married.' She grumbled. 'For the record, they've both happened, and a few years ago, probably the only decent guy I've ever met, was transferred to Canada due to his job! I've got literally no luck with men.'_

_'Ushishi~'_

_The brunette wasn't sure how long she sat there, or how much she drank exactly, but all that she knew was that she somehow ended up turning her angry rants about her failed love life and Diego (all of which she had a feeling the blonde next to her tuned out) into rather detailed descriptions of torture devices she'd read about in the Higurashi series and how to modify them in order to to use them on her ex boyfriend. Had Tsuki actually not already been way too intoxicated to even start comprehending what was coming out of her mouth, she'd have been horrified._

_The blonde guy sitting next to her on the other hand, seemed to instantly perk up at the mention of Sonozaki Shion's torture chamber, giggling and happily helping her think up the most gruesome and painful ways possible to do Diego in._

_Tsuki supposed she already was way too wasted by that time to realize the guy was a psychopath, her subconscious danger alarm seemed to have been deactivated by all the alcohol as well, for she stayed with him for hours, her ex eventually slipping her mind completely as their gory tales escalated to a whole new level._

_The brunette had no idea who the hell the grinning blonde next to her was, but one thing she was absolutely certain of, this person was deranged and he had a creepy sort of blood fetish. And for some reason, that seemed to appeal to her drunken state of mind at the time..._

_'Ahhh~ we got kicked out~' Tsuki giggled as she twirled around, surprising even herself by the fact she didn't fall over. She stumbled a bit, but managed to turn around and face the guy that was following her, a bottle of what looked like it could be tequila (though Tsuki wouldn't really know) being held in his hands. 'What should we do now?'_

_Apparently, having two people in your bar talking quite loudly and in great detail about how to painfully and efficiently kill someone the most gruesome way possible while not leaving behind any evidence for the police to find, was not all that good for business. Huh, who would've guessed..._

_'Ushishi, we could always go get a drink somewhere else...' His voice came out kind of slurred, as if he was starting to get a bit tipsy. How exactly he managed to be only _tipsy_ after drinking almost the double amount of alcohol Tsuki had, was beyond the brunette. And he was still drinking... 'Or we could wander around and find something more fun to do.'_

_'Uh... alright...' Tsuki slurred, finding it increasingly hard to sort out the thoughts inside her mind. 'I guess we could-'_

_Before the young woman got to tell him what they could do exactly, a phone started going off. It took her a few seconds to realize that the song being heard was actually Japanese, but no, it was not her cellphone... last time she checked her ring tone was not about fear, screaming and ripping people apart._

_The blonde let out a sound that resembled a groan, shifting the bottle so that he was holding it with his right hand as his left searched through his pockets, pulling out a very expensive-looking cell phone._

_'What.' He demanded as soon as he flipped it open and brought the device to his ear, an action which he soon regretted._

_**'VOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIII!'**_

_The blonde cringed, pulling the cellphone away from his ear and holding it as far away from him as he possibly could, Tsuki's eyes widened as she stared at the red device. The scream had been heard pretty clearly by even her. Had it really come from his cell phone?_

_'Che, what the hell do you want, peasant?'_

_**'VOOI! YOU BASTARD! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?'** The guy didn't seem to be surprised by the incredible loudness of the voice now that the cellphone wasn't against his ear any longer, looking rather bored as he replied._

_'In Venice, where else? Boss sent me on a mission here, remember?'_

_**'PIETRO MARTONE WAS REPORTED DEAD THREE DAYS AGO, YOU SCUM! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STILL IN VENICE?'**_

_'Shishishi, the prince is just having his fun, shark commander.'_

_**'VOOOOIIIIII! YOU'VE GOT MISSIONS TO DO, YOU SHITTY PRINCE! IF I DON'T FIND YOU HERE TOMORROW MORNING YOU'RE GOING TO BE DOING ONLY PAPERWORK FOR A MONTH!'** With that, the conversation abruptly ended as the line went dead. The blonde cursed under his breath, shutting his phone as well and stuffing it back inside his jacket, muttering obscenities all the while._

_'Um...' Tsuki dared to speak up. 'You okay?'_

_'Che, the prince is fine.' He grumbled angrily, not really looking the part. The brunette just nodded though, opting not to voice her opinions._

_The blonde took the bottle of tequila (she guessed) and swiftly proceeded to just take a swig of it. Yeah, he was definitely not "fine". Shrugging it off though, Tsuki moved over to him, asking for the bottle as well._

_'So,' She started, licking a bit of the alcohol that had now been confirmed as tequila off her lips, 'What do we do now?'_

* * *

><p><em>Tsuki giggled drunkenly as she followed the stranger up the narrow stairs, both of them going at a much slower pace than they would've liked, the brunette stopping every few minutes to grab onto the railing and steady herself.<em>

_Humming the theme song of "mission impossible" under her breath, Tsuki lifted her head to look at the blonde she was following, he was doing a lot better than her at getting up all those stairs in his drunken state. They had acquired another bottle of some alcoholic drink whose name Tsuki didn't know and were currently sniggering and giggling respectively as they tried to get to the building's third floor._

_Key word: tried._

_'So... remind me why exactly... I'm leading you to my ex's apartment again...?' The young woman asked, having to pause periodically in order to stitch her sentences together correctly. She'd never really realized that forming a single sentence could be this hard._

_'Ushishi, 'cause the prince wants to play a game.'_

_'Yeah... but why' she paused for a moment, leaning against the wall for support, 'why Diego's apartment? He doesn't even have an Xbox...'_

_'It's another kind of game the prince wants to play.' The tiara-wearing person sniggered, trying to sound mysterious though he was highly unsuccessful in his drunken state. Not that Tsuki was able to sense that, being as smashed as she was... Finally reaching the third floor, they came to a stop. 'You'll get to see soon~'_

_'Oh... alri- ah!'_

_Tsuki's eyes widened as her foot suddenly slipped, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards._

_It was as if everything moved in slow-motion then, she started falling, and the blonde looked back, his mouth opening and his lips moving, but Tsuki couldn't make out the words. She had no idea how he did it, but he moved fast, his hand reaching out to catch hers, and he did, only that he was a bit too late. Gravity won the battle, and both of them found themselves toppling down the stairs rather painfully._

_'Fuck.' The blonde hissed, gritting his teeth. He had somehow gotten himself landed underneath the brunette, and Tsuki was sure that had hurt like hell. Not only did he almost break his neck as they quite literally rolled down the stairs, but he'd accidentally acted as her cushion as well. 'The prince isn't going back up all those stairs again.' The blonde declared, and Tsuki nodded. She was in no hurry to start climbing those three floors all over again._

_'Uh... sorry...' The young woman muttered, pushing herself off the "prince" and turning to look at him as she tried to stabilize herself._

_The two of them just stood there for a while, the shattered bottle of alcohol lying just a few meters away from them, forgotten. They just stared at each other, her eyes boring into his... or well, her _eyes _boring into his _bangs_, to be more exact._

_Tsuki's lip twitched slightly as she tried to stop herself, desperately hoping to cling to her composure for just a while longer. The stranger grinned._

_'Ushishi.'_

_'Pfffft!'_

_They exchanged a look, and burst out laughing._

_The laughter that filled the air was loud and clear, Tsuki wasn't even really sure_ why_ exactly they were laughing, but neither of them could stop, they just laughed and laughed. Each time that one of them attempted to stop, a simple glance in the other's direction would send them into a brand new giggling fit._

_It went on like that for a while, and it was truly a miracle that no one had come out to check what all the noise was about._

_'Ushishi, the prince has got an idea.' The blonde self-proclaimed prince sniggered sometime later, grinning like he was the Cheshire cat, looking down at Alice. 'Lets get married.'_

* * *

><p>'VOOOOOOOOIIIIIII!'<p>

The scream soared through the sky, causing a flock of birds that had been nestled on the branches of a nearby tree to caw and quickly fly away, not wanting to be subjected to the swordsman's excruciatingly loud lectures.

'Move, goddamn it, _move_!' Squalo roared angrily, swinging his sword around in pure rage as Tsuki and the assassins made their way through the forest. They were currently climbing some rocks, following a rather tricky path which the Varia's commander had deemed to be a shortcut to their castle.

The Varia's more athletic members, namely Bel, Squalo and Lussuria, had managed to climb the cliff in an instant, closely followed by Xanxus, who was being carried up by Levi as he just sat in his throne.

Mammon had chosen to be practical as well and had long since made use of those psychic powers she was so well known for, teleporting herself up the hill and leaving the last two members of their team to struggle on their own.

Or well, Tsuki struggled at least, for Fran didn't even seem to be trying.

'Voooii! Pick up your pace damn it! What are you, old grannies?' Squalo yelled as he watched the duo attempt to climb the hillside. Personally, Tsuki thought she wasn't doing half-bad, this being the first time she ever did this and all... but the Varia's second-in-command, had of course a whole other opinion on the matter. 'We don't have all day, hurry the fuck up, will you!'

'I'm trying...!' The brunette called back in exasperation, breathing heavily as she hung from a rock, not daring to look back down. She exhaled a few more times and, momentarily closing her eyes, heaved herself up, swinging her leg over the boulder and finally managing to get on top of it.

Glancing upwards, Tsuki felt her heart sink. She was only halfway through...? If this was how this so-called "shortcut" would get them back home, the young woman would much rather take the normal route, no matter how many hours extra she might have to walk. She'd rather not trip off a cliff and fall to her death, thank you very much...

'And you!' Squalo's shout reached the brunette's ears once more, making her look up again and realize that, much to her immense surprise and relief, it wasn't her he was shouting at this time. 'I get the woman, but why the hell are_ you_ climbing this slow?'

'This is stupid.' The teal-haired illusionist announced, jumping off the piece of rock he'd previously been standing on and pausing for a moment as he reached the ground, straightening his newly acquired frog hat (Bel had bribed Mammon into making an exact replica of the teen's old hat some time ago) and turning to look at his superior. 'I am taking the normal way back.'

That having been said, the teenager turned around and walked off, completely ignoring Squalo's enraged cries of "VOOOOIIIII". The boy was suddenly engulfed by some kind of indigo mist and, just like Mukuro had done so many times before, disappeared into thin air.

'VOOOOIIIII! When I next see him, I'm gonna skin that brat!'

'Ushishi, the prince will help you, peasant.'

'Mu, I could assist too I suppose. For a fee, of course.'

'VOOOI! NO ONE ASKED YOU! Someone go get that damn woman up here so we can move on!'

Next thing she knew, Belphegor was falling off the cliff, quite ungracefully too, Tsuki might as well add. The blonde assassin prince did a back-flip just moments before he was to hit the ground and landed safely on his feet.

'Oi! Are you trying to get the prince killed, you peasant?' Bel shouted, his head tilted upwards and undoubtedly glaring at the guy that had had the nerve to kick him off that cliff. Tsuki could see the unmistakable glint of silver peaking out of his Varia coat's sleeves.

'I've been trying for almost two decades now, you bastard!' Squalo's voice was heard, causing a vein to pop on Bel's head. 'Now take your wife, or whatever the fuck she's supposed to be, and get up here before I rip you both to ribbons!'

'Che.' Clicking his tongue, the self-proclaimed prince put his knives away again, turning to look at Tsuki. Before she had the time to react, the blonde reached out, grabbing Tsuki and slinging her over his shoulder, starting to climb the hillside for the second time that day.

* * *

><p>By the time they <em>finally<em> reached their destination, the sun had long since gone down.

All of the assassins were beyond simply disgruntled as the big castle's towers came into their line of vision, Tsuki clinging onto Belphegor and feeling like she might faint from the exhaustion then and there.

Bel himself was not in a much better condition, he was hungry and he hadn't had anyone to stab in a while now, resulting in a very grumpy prince. Not to mention, Mammon had randomly fallen asleep in Tsuki's arms at some point, causing the blonde to give the baby a glare fiercer than hell itself.

Lussuria was unhappy too, something about him having to catch up with his beauty sleep, or something of the kind...

Xanxus though, was by far the worst. He had, after all, not had any booze or steak in at least the last 24 hours and was currently facing what could only be described as withdrawal symptoms.

Seeing Fran curled up in the sofa, reading a book and calmly sipping some lemonade, did not help lift their spirits any. Turned out that Squalo's so-called shortcut wasn't all that much of a shortcut after all.

Promptly, guns, knives, fists, horrific illusions and parabolas were all pointed in the swordsman's direction. Tsuki chose to be wise then and back off, preferring to go take a bath instead.

Judging by all the noise that could be heard from downstairs, Squalo would not be taking any missions for a while...

* * *

><p>'Ushishi~'<p>

Tsuki felt her eyebrow twitch as she pulled her towel and change of clothes closer to her chest, glancing back at the blonde assassin out of the corner of her eyes.

He was following her, a huge grin plastered on his lips, his striped shirt dripping blood.

The brunette didn't know what she had done to deserve this, but no matter how long she wandered around, trying to shake Bel off, the self-proclaimed prince _would just not stop following her_.

Finally giving up, the young woman came to a stop in front of the closest bathroom, hesitating for a moment before opening the door.

'Whoa, just a second, what do you think you're doing?'

'Ushishi, the prince wants to shower together with his peasant~'

Tsuki gave him a blank look.

And promptly slammed the door shut in his face.


	18. Back at last

Surprisingly, getting readjusted to the crazy Varia lifestyle was easier than Tsuki had initially expected it to be, only some minor changes having been made ever since the last time she'd been there.

For one, the brunette couldn't properly express her gratitude at Squalo no longer being able to get up at the crack of dawn to "VOOOOOIIIIII" his lungs out and wake them all up, leading in five very pissed Varia members for her to calm down later.

It made her life considerably easier, seeing as Bel no longer stormed inside the kitchen, chucking around knives in the hopes of hitting his superior. No longer did those knives fly all around, accidentally getting stuck in the boss's steak (how he managed to eat_ that_ for breakfast, Tsuki had no idea) or smashing the wine glass in his hand. No longer did half of the kitchen get destroyed by Xanxus's flame of wrath every other day.

Never before had mornings at the Varia headquarters been so peaceful...

Without Squalo around to get them up at 4 am for what he called "a little of morning training" each day, everyone had relaxed, getting up whenever they felt like it and giving Tsuki a lot more freedom than she had had before. She just woke up whenever she felt like it, prepared breakfast for Mammon and herself and then stored the leftovers the fridge. That way, when the assassins finally awoke at 9 (Fran), 10 (Lussuria), or even 1 or 2 (Boss and Bel), they could just grab their breakfast and eat it.

As guilty as she felt about thinking it, Tsuki couldn't help but admit that with Squalo stuck in the infirmary, life was a whole lot simpler. Not to mention, the brunette now had a lot more free time at her disposal...

Which was exactly why she now had time to do things like... this.

'_Hey mom..._' Tsuki murmured, her native language sounding foreign to even herself as she spoke it. It really had been too long... the brunette held the receiver to her ear, biting her lip as she heard the surprised gasp come from the other side of the line.

'_T-Tsukiko...?_' Her mother's astonished voice was heard, as if unable to believe that she was actually hearing her daughter's voice after all this time. The brunette told herself she shouldn't be surprised though... how would _she_ have felt had_ her_ daughter suddenly called her after months of no contact? She didn't need to be a mother to imagine how her mom must momentarily be feeling.

'_Yeah._' Tsuki sighed, running a hand through her brown hair awkwardly.

She had gone through all the trouble of convincing Xanxus to allow her to make a phone call to her house back in Japan, but now that she was actually on the line with her family... the brunette didn't really know what to say.

How on earth was she to explain two months of no contact whatsoever when she used to call almost daily? Her parents must've gone mad with worry...

'_It's me..._' At the other side of the line, she could hear her mother crying softly, probably relived. Tsuki could only gulp, knowing she'd have to lie through her teeth when she was asked where she had been, and why she hadn't called even once.

They couldn't know about the mafia or the Varia, Xanxus had made that as clear as crystal. Any non-mafia person that knew too much would be killed. She was one of the few exceptions, but that was only because she was under the protection of Prince The Ripper. She knew her parents wouldn't be as lucky.

'_Tsukiko...! I-I'm so relieved... do you have any idea how worried we all were?_' Tsuki traced her finger over the tablecloth, still biting her lip guiltily._ 'Are you alright honey? Nothing happened, right? You're-'_

'_Mom- please- I... I'm fine..._' Taking a deep breath, Tsuki forced herself to go on. '_Some things just happened, and, it's been pretty hectic here... I'm so sorry I didn't call..._'

'_Tsukiko?_' That was her mom alright, the brunette couldn't help but crack a tiny smile. The woman always understood when something was wrong.

_'Um, well, Diego and I broke up and... I don't really want to talk about it..._' She could imagine her mom frowning and quickly went on talking. '_But I'm fine now, honestly. So, please, don't worry about me alright?_'

'_Tsukiko-_'

'_Just, please mom._' At the other side of the line, Aohana Kokoro sighed.

'_Fine._' She said, her voice soft as she spoke to her daughter. '_But I'm expecting a proper explanation later though, alright? I'm definitely not just letting this go._'

'_Yeah... alright.'_ Tsuki agreed, even though she knew that she was lying. She tried to sound convincing though, for her family's sake. If her mother got the fact her daughter was lying, she did not show it. '_So, uh... how's Seiji...?'_

'_You just missed him, dear... he went out with his friends not five minutes ago...'_

'_Oh, well... tell him I said hi, will you?_'

'_Of course._'

_'And tell dad not to overdo himself. He shouldn't be worrying himself that much... it's bad for his health.'_ Kokoro just laughed lightly.

'_That's just how your dad is Tsukiko, you know that... he's only worried about his daughter._' Tsuki couldn't help but smile a little at that. She hadn't quite realized just how much she'd missed her family... gripping the receiver a little more tightly, Tsuki opened her mouth once again.

'_And, um... could you please not tell dad about me breaking up with Diego...?_' She cracked a small smile. _'We wouldn't want him coming to hunt my ex down with a shotgun now, would we?_'

Kokoro chuckled a little, most likely remembering the first (and only) time her daughter ever attempted to bring a boyfriend home. The poor guy had been traumatized for life.

Aohana Ryuichi was a good father, just a tad overprotective...

'_Alright, I won't tell him...'_ The older woman agreed and Tsuki could imagine her nodding her head as she spoke. She was set at ease by that, when her mother said something, she always kept to her word. '_You'll still have to let him know sometime though._'

'_I know, just not yet..._'

The door of the study was suddenly pulled open then, causing Tsuki to take her focus off the phone call as she looked around for the intruder. Surprisingly, it wasn't any of the Varia core members, a small group of guys the brunette recognized as Bel's storm unit team starting to slowly file in instead.

She blinked, glancing back at the phone before turning to the underlings once more. They didn't seem to mean any harm. They looked kinda... uncomfortable actually.

'_Um, listen mom, I've got to go..._'

'_So soon?' _Kokoro questioned, sounding a little disappointed that her daughter had to leave already. Tsuki didn't want to hang up yet either (after all, who knew when Xanxus would allow her another phone call again?) but she really didn't want her mother overhearing anything she shouldn't...

'_Yeah, but I promise I'll call back... sometime...' _Kokoro sighed.

'_Alright sweetheart, love you._'

_'Love you too, mom._'

Exchanging a quick goodbye with her mother, the brunette hung up, taking a deep breath as she prepared herself to turn around and face the assassins. They might be nowhere near Bel, Fran, Xanxus or even Levi's level, but they were still assassins, and that made Tsuki kind of uncomfortable.

Oh hell, who was she kidding? It made her _very _uncomfortable, especially since she'd never talked to any of the underlings before. She'd done nothing to annoy them, had she? Nothing she could recall doing...

'Um... you-you're Aohana Tsukiko, right? Be-Belphegor-sama's wife?' Tsuki felt herself turn bright scarlet at being addressed like that, opening her mouth to protest.

'I-I-well... _w-wife_ is kind of-' Before the brunette could end her thoughts though, the men stopped her, speaking up all at once as they surrounded her.

'Please help us out!'

* * *

><p>Prince Belphegor hated paperwork, he hated it with a burning passion and anyone that had known him for any amount of time was well aware of that fact. If it was physically possible for the human body to develop some kind of an allergy to paperwork, then Belphegor would without doubt be the first person on Earth to ever be diagnosed with it.<p>

The first time he ever spent a whole night filing mission reports and arranging folders, he had been tricked by Squalo, a shrewd little prank that had landed the swordsman right into the infirmary the next morning, several stab wounds easily distinguishable all over his body. Ever since then, the prince seemed to have made it his goal in life to avoid paperwork at all costs, he'd stay locked up in his room, or take on long-term missions he'd usually never have bothered with, all for the sake of not having to sit through the torture that was reading over, signing and arranging a never-ending stack of papers.

But there were sometimes that, try as he might, the ripper prince could just not avoid his duties as a senior Varia officer. Despite his age, he had been with the Varia for nineteen years already, and that meant that right after Xanxus, Squalo and Lussuria, he was the one in charge. Mammon already had enough work handling the financial matters of not only the Varia but Vongola as well and Fran had been there for only two years, thus being too new to be able to take care of the squad's more serious business yet. It went of course without saying that no one would ever even _dream_ of letting an idiot like Levi deal with important mafia stuff. Knowing the creep, he would probably get lost half-way through and start drawing pictures of Xanxus on their important documents... damn, that thought was creepy...

So with Squalo in the infirmary and Lussuria having volunteered to be his nurse (much to the former's obvious horror), all of the previous weeks' paperwork had been dropped onto the prince.

Anyone that had ever had to deal with paperwork for a while knew and fully agreed to the fact that the worst thing about it was that if you ignored them for even one day, your undone work would be doubled by the time the next morning rolled around. After several weeks of being neglected, one could only imagine the stacks of unsigned papers the prince was met with as he entered Squalo's office.

Had it not been for Xanxus quite clearly stating, with a gun pointed at Bel's temple, that he was to sort through all of that until his second-in-command could take the work up himself again, the prince would never have bothered. But the boss's words were law within the Varia, and Belphegor had been condemned to spending whatever free time he had holed up in Squalo's office, trying to get through all of the crap the shark had left unfinished.

Fran of course, had found the whole situation very enjoyable. With his senpai spending 98% of his time signing papers (the rest of the time he was either sleeping, eating or fulfilling some other basic need), the self-proclaimed prince had barely had any time left to pester the green-haired illusionist at all. It was a change that was well-welcomed.

Others though, weren't quite as happy about the recent changes in Bel's schedule. Namely, Belphegor's storm unit squad, a group of assassins carefully selected by Xanxus and/or the ninth to be trained by Belphegor himself, were desperate to get their superior back in a good mood.

Lately, their numbers had been decreasing rapidly... or well, more rapidly than they usually did, and that was not a good thing.

Just like many people that had power, Bel's easy solution to stress, was making life a living hell for the men under his command. Belphegor's training sessions had never been a walk through the park exactly, nothing even close to it, but lately it had been simply unbearable.

The guy would be more sadistic than he usually was (and that was saying something), not actually training his men but forcing them to partake in a full-blown survival game. Whoever was deemed, for whatever reason, not to be good enough was killed by Prince the Ripper himself.

Belphegor's men had always feared their commander, but now they were utterly terrified of the man. They had to do something quick, for if he did not calm down soon, there would no longer be a storm unit squad for the blonde to train, he'd have wiped them all out.

Which was why they decided to seek out the only person the self-proclaimed prince seemed to act even _slightly_ civil towards.

She had arrived at the castle sometime over two months ago, almost three now, but unlike everyone else she was not an assassin. In fact, the storm unit squad had several reasons to believe she had never even been associated with the mafia prior to her getting married to the blonde prince.

They didn't know much about her, no one but the Varia's core members did, but even the lower level officers like them had noticed that the Varia's storm guardian was a lot more calmer when around his wife.

It had been their last resort seeing as they knew that the ripper prince would most likely not be happy at them having approached her like that (rumors about him brutally murdering some men that had been checking her out had been going around like wildfire lately) but they were really at loss of what else to do. Aohana Tsukiko really was their last hope.

She had been on the phone in her husband's office when they found her, talking to her mother, if her hurried goodbyes were anything to go by. If there had been any doubt about whether or not she was an assassin before, there sure as hell wasn't now. She was eying them warily, backing off a little at the same time, the way she moved making it pretty obvious that she had never undergone any training like theirs.

She was pretty, but kind of common... a commoner, a peasant if you will. Belphegor's storm unit squad wasn't quite sure how a woman like her had managed to survive living in the Varia, let alone being married to their superior... or how said superior had even deemed her fit enough to be his bride in the first place. She was so unlike all the previous women he'd brought home, they were all always beautiful, if not a bit too revealing, and were always gone by the time morning came.

Aohana Tsukiko though was different, she was modest and obviously blushed quite a lot, she probably also had a lot of patience in order to be able to put up with Belphegor on a daily basis. They hadn't quite understood why the ripper prince seemed to, dare they say it, have fallen for her at first, but that also became obvious pretty soon.

The Japanese woman had something none of the other women he'd been with or the assassins he lived with had. She was innocent, pure. She was a kind person, a trait not easily found in the mafia, and there was just... a certain charm to her, one that drew people in.

Even though it was clear she'd rather not be in the same room with them, she stayed and listened, agreeing to help out when she heard what the problem was.

The brunette really was something else, the storm unit decided, one of a kind... they could see now why the Varia's prince had hurried and claimed her his. No one was foolish enough to try and steal away Prince The Ripper's bride. She was his, and his only.

* * *

><p>'Bel?' Tsuki cautiously asked, knocking on the door of Squalo's office before carefully letting herself in.<p>

The blonde prince was sitting hunched over Squalo's desk, several piles of paperwork surrounding him. He didn't look up, simply grunting at the brunette and wordlessly telling her that he was listening.

'Um... I just- can I talk to you for a bit?' Sighing, Bel took a moment to rub his tired eyes before turning to Tsuki.

'What?'

'Um...' _Shoot. She had no idea how to start. _'Well, I've just er... noticed that you've been kind of stressed lately and, uh, is there anything I could do for you...?' The brunette mumbled, playing with the hem of her shirt and preferring to stare at all the paperwork instead of Bel himself. 'I-I mean, tea usually-'

'I don't want no tea, woman.' Bel growled, sighing in frustration and dropping his pen. He leaned back in Squalo's chair, taking a few moments to stretch before he turned back to the woman he had accidentally married. A big grin found its way to his lips then and he opened his mouth to speak up. 'Now, if the peasant would-'

'If it is anything perverted or sexual, you can forget it.' Tsuki quickly cut in, surprisingly bravely for her standards. But she'd known Bel for long enough to know that he was incredibly horny and had his mind on sex more than half of the time. She might've agreed to go out with him (or rather, he decided it by himself and Tsuki had no choice but to oblige, not that she would've refused anyway) but, in Tsuki's opinion at least, it was still _way_ too early for _that_.

Bel's shoulders slumped a little and the brunette supposed she had been correct after all. Surprisingly enough though, the blonde assassin didn't insist, which was unusual, for Bel would usually go on and pester her until someone stopped him...

All these hours of filing, signing and looking through mountains and mountains of paper must've really tired him out then... the young woman almost felt some sympathy towards her self-proclaimed boyfriend.

'But, er, you know, you should really try to calm down a bit... it's not good for your... uh... blood pressure...?' Bel gave her a look that clearly said "really?" and Tsuki chuckled awkwardly. Oh god, she was awful at this...

'Those peasants I'm training put you up to this, didn't they?' The blonde asked, letting out that peculiar laugh of his which Tsuki had grown so used to hearing lately. He didn't sound angry, or murderous, like she'd have thought. On the contrary, Belphegor looked rather amused.

'N-no...! Of c-course not! I- I just-'

'Ushishi, you're a horrible liar, you know that peasant?' Seeing as Bel didn't seem to be in an "I'll dice you and then scatter your body parts all over Europe" kind of mood at the moment, Tsuki decided she might as well give up. Sighing in defeat, she plopped down in the chair opposite of Belphegor.

'So I've been told... once or twice...'

'Or a hundred times, ushishi~'

'Or a hundred times... yeah, sounds about accurate...' The self-proclaimed prince sniggered, running a hand through his golden locks of hair, minding not to accidentally drop his tiara-crown thing.

Neither of them said anything for a few moments, Tsuki having suddenly found her nails to be very interesting as Bel ducked to look for the pen he had dropped earlier.

'So yeah... what I actually wanted is...'

'You want to prince to go easy on the peasants.' The Varia's storm guardian sighed and Tsuki nodded. She didn't think it was much to ask for, but apparently, Bel had another view on the matter. 'They are assassins, peasant, their enemies won't go easy on them when they try to kill them.'

Tsuki gulped, her eyes moving up to meet Belphegor's (hidden) blue orbs. She knew that that was true of course but...

'But what you're doing is simply taking your anger out on them...' The brunette voiced her thoughts and Belphegor groaned, annoyed at the fact that his wife was refusing to see things his way.

'Okay, it's true. The prince is taking out his frustration on the peasants.' He said rather calmly, crossing his arms. 'But look around you, everyone is doing the same. Boss shoots someone every time his steak isn't cooked well-enough or his wine wasn't served in the right glass. Mammon is always putting the illusionists under her command through harder training when something about her mission went wrong and she didn't get as much money as she'd wished. Even the frog does it, he goes to train with his master, the pineapple peasant takes his frustration out on the frog and the frog takes it out on all of us with his stupid monotone insults. The grunts have got it even worse, they're subjected to his illusions.'

'Yes but-'

'There are no buts, it's like that even in the normal world, outside the mafia.' Tsuki sighed, she couldn't deny what the blonde was saying for she knew all of it was true... but still, just because everyone around him was doing it, didn't mean Bel had to go and make his underlings' life a living hell as well... they were put through enough already as it was... 'Besides...' _Oh there he went again_ '...I am a prince.'

As if that was the answer to all her questions and requests, the blonde returned to all of the paperwork that was still left unfinished, sniggering to himself all the while.

Tsuki heaved a sigh and decided to see if she was needed somewhere else, Lussuria was probably having a hard time tending to Squalo anyway... so perhaps he could use some help...

* * *

><p>'Aaaaah~' Lussuria cooed in a baby voice, sitting crouched next to the bandaged person lying in the bed, pushing a soup-filled spoon against his lips. The person refused to part his lips, icy blue eyes boring into the Sun guardian's skull as he cooed over the other man. If looks could kill, the Varia's flamboyant boxer would be dead a hundred times over already. 'Say aaah, Squ-chan~'<p>

'VOOOOIIII! I need no fucking help eating, you bastard!' The mummified swordsman practically screamed, trying to get up and strangle his teammate. That didn't go over all too well with his injured body though, for he was jerked back by the inevitable pain that came with having almost every single bone inside your body broken.

'S-Squalo...!' Tsuki exclaimed, her eyes wide as she jumped up, gently pushing the swordsman back down into his bed again. 'Please be careful!'

'Will both of you just quit babying me? I'm fucking _fine_ without you hanging around!'

'B-but... you're injured and-!'

'VOOOOOOOIIII! We're hitmen, woman! If one little injury like that could bring us down, we wouldn't be in the Varia!'

'L-little...' Tsuki couldn't help but glance down at the swordsman and wonder... if having almost all of your bones broken was a _little_ injury... what the hell was a _bad _injury? The brunette wasn't quite sure whether she wanted to find out.

'Now now Squ-chan...' Lussuria spoke up, having put his homemade soup down and turning to look at the younger man. 'Don't get all angry at Tsuki-chan like that, just because you are frustrated doesn't mean you should take it out on her. She was just trying to help...'

'Um... it's alright, I really-'

'No, no, it's not alright Tsuki-chan.' The flamboyant man said, wagging his index finger in front of Tsuki's eyes. 'In fact, I think Squ-chan should apologize... right, Squalo?'

Turning to look at the Varia's second-in-command, Lussuria gave him an expectant look.

'Vooi! Why the hell should I apologize? I was only correcting her!' The swordsman exclaimed angrily, and, remembering something else, glared at Lussuria again. 'And I told you not to call me Squ-chan, damn it!'

'But _Squalo_, it's cute...!' The martial arts expert squealed rather girlishly, causing the swordsman to wince and try and inch away from the flamboyant assassin.

'Well I don't want to be called that!'

'Okay...' Lussuria dramatically sighed, pouting dejectedly. Then he suddenly perked up again, opening his mouth to say something else, but Squalo beat him to it.

'And no other ridiculous nicknames either! Just use my proper name, bastard!' Lussuria looked sad for a moment or two, but once again it didn't take him long to stumble across another realization.

'Ohh~ does that mean I get to call you Superbi?'

'VOOOOOOOIIIII! HELL NO!'

Tsuki just stayed silently seated in her chair as she watched the two assassins argue like a couple of four-year-olds, Squalo shouting death threats at his teammate and Lussuria completely ignoring him as he went on suggesting nicknames he thought were "cute".

For a bunch of elite assassins, the Varia could sure act immaturely on occasions...

'Ushishi~ what are you peasants doing in here? You better keep it down, the boss is getting irritated.'

The familiar voice halted both of the assassins as they turned to look at the blonde "prince" standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest as he grinned at the brunette and his two teammates. He had apparently gotten away from all of his paperwork, and was now looking for some sort of entertainment.

'Oh, hi Bel-chan...' Lussuria happily said, turning away from Squalo to face the younger assassin. 'Are you here to see Squ-chan (_Voooi! I told you not to call me that!)_ too?'

'The prince has no interest in the shark commander, he was looking for his peasant.'

'Eh?' Tsuki started, blinking a couple of times before looking up in surprise. 'Me?' She pointed at herself and Bel sniggered.

'Of course.'

Quickly turning to glance in Lussuria's direction, the brunette silently asked him if it was alright to follow Belphegor. After all, Squalo could be quite a handful to take care of. Not only was he impossibly loud, protesting and complaining (ridiculously loudly) about every single thing that he didn't like, but he also seemed to like Lussuria less of everybody else that had offered to help him until he recovered. He'd only agreed to let the flamboyant man be his nurse because it was either him or Levi, and he'd rather cut off his right arm than have Levi take care of him.

So yeah, Tsuki was a bit hesitant about leaving Lussuria alone with Squalo... or rather, she was hesitant about leaving _Squalo_ alone with _Lussuria_. She couldn't quite decide which of the two was worse...

'Oho~ don't you worry dear!' Lussuria giggled, grinning at the brunette. 'You go see what Bel-chan wants, I've got Squalo...!'

That said, the man started pushing her towards the door a little _too_ eagerly, causing Tsuki to trip over her own feet as she tried to keep up. Had Belphegor not been there to break her fall, the brunette would've very ungracefully fallen face first into the Varia hospital's tile floor.

'Ushishi, you fine peasant?' The blonde asked, grinning that Cheshire cat grin of his as he helped the young woman balance, letting go of her after a moment or two.

'Uh... yeah, thanks...' Tsuki mumbled, her cheeks gaining a slight pink color. The assassin in front of her sniggered, wrapping his hand around her wrist and giving it a slight pull.

'Walk with the prince.' He demanded.

* * *

><p>'So, um... did you want something from me...?' The brunette questioned cautiously as the two of them walked down the one of castle's long halls some time later. She was a bit confused as to what exactly Belphegor was doing though, wasn't this about the time he usually trained the group of men he was in charge of...?<p>

'Ushishi~ the prince decided to take up the peasant's advice.' The blonde assassin announced, grinning widely at Tsuki, causing the latter to blink. He did? Well that was unexpected... 'Since he's so generous, the prince has given the storm peasants a day off.'

'You-you did...?' Tsuki hesitantly asked. She couldn't help but think how unlike Bel this was, just a while ago he was full-out lecturing her about politics, superiors and how, being a "prince", he had the right to act like a prat. 'That was... pretty nice of you...' The brunette couldn't help but feel like... there _had_ to be a catch somewhere...

'Ushishi, of course, I am a prince after all...' Bel sniggered to himself but Tsuki opted to remain silent, knowing that the blonde assassin wasn't done talking yet. 'So the prince thought, since he's got a day off as well, and the peasant's free anyway, we should go out on a date.'

Not having caught up yet to what exactly Bel was saying, Tsuki opened her mouth to protest against the "the peasant's free anyway" part, she had been doing a lot of domestic work around the Varia castle after all, Lussuria could attest to that. That, however, was when her mind caught up to the last part of Bel's sentence.

'A-a-a date?' She managed to choke out, her eyes widening and face turning bright pink.

'That's right peasant. You better be ready by seven, ushishi, the prince already got permission from the boss~'

That said, the self-proclaimed prince was off, leaving a blushing Tsuki in his wake.

Oh dear god... a date with Belphegor...

Just how on earth was she going to survive that?


	19. A date with a prince

This was ridiculous, Tsuki decided as she stood in front of the medium-sized mirror inside her bedroom, fresh out of bath and glaring at the two outfits neatly laid out on the bed. She'd been standing there for approximately half an hour now, trying to pick out the clothes she'd wear for her date with Belphegor and changing her mind every fifteen seconds. She hadn't even been that nervous when she'd gone out on her first date ever, so why the heck was she worrying herself silly about what she should wear to go out with _Bel_, of all people? It wasn't like they'd be going out to some lavish party... right...?

Knowing Bel, he might take her to some kind of a nightclub though, since he did seem like the kind of person that'd enjoy going to those kind of places. But wasn't seven a bit too early for that... ? Perhaps he planned on wandering around for some time before they actually went anywhere? Then the outfits she'd chosen wouldn't suffice, but it wasn't like she had anything really fancy in her wardrobe anyway... the only nice thing she'd actually worn ever since her marriage (accidental marriage, of course) to prince the ripper, had been the dress Lussuria had gotten for her for the Christmas party, the very same dress Bel had oh-so-thoughtfully decided to chuck into a rubbish bin somewhere in Sienna... it hadn't even been hers to begin with...

She could of course go ask the flamboyant boxer for assistance, she was sure the man would be more than happy to help her out, but other than Lussuria momentarily having his hands more than full with taking care of Squalo (or attempting to at least), she didn't really want the whole castle knowing about her date with Belphegor.

Letting out a huff, Tsuki put her arms on her hips, narrowing her eyes at the blue shirt.

She should just wear that and get it over with. Yes, the brunette determinedly decided as she reached out for the blue garment, and if Bel didn't like it then that was his problem. But then, for the millionth time that evening, she hesitated. Wasn't it a bit too plain...? But the red shirt made her look like she was pregnant or something...

Ugh, damn it! This was just so _frustrating_!

She could practically hear Bel's voice in her mind then, sniggering and being his perverted self, as per usual. _Ushishi, the peasant could always wear nothing, the prince would like that._

_That, _Tsuki thought, was out of the question. Completely. Not a snowball's chance in hell.

But that still left her with the question though. Just what on Earth was she supposed to wear? If the blue one was too plain and the red one made her look fat, that literally meant she had no more shirts to chose of, all of her other shirts were either being washed or didn't suit the occasion.

Damn, she should really consider asking someone if they could take her out to go shopping one of those days because Squalo, who'd been sent to get her some clothes when she first arrived there, clearly had no idea which pieces of clothing went together and which didn't. That, or he just randomly grabbed some clothes off the store's rack without looking. She suspected it to have been the second one.

Still, she supposed she was lucky Squalo had been the one sent and not Bel, because if that were the case she'd probably be stuck wearing maid outfits and other overly-revealing stuff that left almost nothing to the imagination for the rest of her life. Tsuki shivered, oh god, that would've been a nightmare... and the worst of it was, she really wouldn't put it past Belphegor to actually go and do something like that.

Shaking her head, the brunette disallowed herself from thinking of that and focused her attention back to the matter at hand.

The question still remained: red or blue?

Red made her look fat, but blue was kind of plain... well, better plain than being mistaken for pregnant. Gosh, she'd die out of embarrassment if someone stopped by to ask her how many months she was, not to mention Bel would never let her live it down if something like that did happen.

Yes, Tsuki decided, the blue shirt it was.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until about thirty minutes later that the brunette was finally ready, wearing her blue shirt and her hair having been blow-dried and brushed, for once actually looking decent as it fell over her shoulders.<p>

She'd done a pretty good job, if she did say so herself. Her hair having been put up in a ponytail and her clothes not half bad now that she was actually wearing them, Tsuki could comfortably say that she looked better than she'd expected herself to. It was nothing fancy, but it was good

Deciding she'd better not make Bel wait though, Tsuki tore her eyes away from the mirror in front of her. As nice as she looked (for once in her life), she was sure the blonde prince wouldn't exactly be happy if she kept him waiting for something as petty as admiring her skills as a hair stylist (which, truly, were usually rather horrible).

'Oh, hi bride woman...' Fran said as Tsuki entered the castle's grand living room a few minutes later, nervously tugging at her shirt as she looked around. No one was there save for the teal-haired illusionist that had been sitting on the big comfortable sofa for a while now, a book opened up in his lap as he read its contents without really paying any attention to them. He had to go training with his shishou in a while anyway and was just killing time.

'Are you going somewhere?' He asked her, raising a teal eye-brow questioningly.

The brunette blushed bright pink and started mumbling something, but seeing as Fran didn't possess super-hearing the frog kohai wasn't able to understand what she was saying.

'Come again?'

'Ushishi, the peasant is going on a date with the prince.'

Both of the room's occupants looked up, their heads snapping in the blonde "prince's" direction. He just snickered, a wide grin stretching on his lips. He was out of his Varia uniform, wearing a striped shirt (big surprise there) and a pair of dark jeans instead, a jacket casually slung over his shoulder as he held it.

'You ready?' He asked, turning his attention in Tsuki's direction and opting to just ignore Fran's existence altogether. The younger Varia officer, being completely fine with that, turned his attention back to the book in his hands.

Tsuki pushed a lock of her brown hair out of her eyes and nodded.

'Um, yeah...' She said, fidgeting a little. Oh for god's sake, what was she? A thirteen-year-old on her first date ever? Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the brunette turned back to Belphegor and started to make her way over to him. 'So, er, where are we going to go to exactly...?'

'Ushishi, you'll see.' Taking hold of her wrist, the prince pulled the peasant out of the room, barely giving her any time to call out a hurried "bye Fran!" over her shoulder. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, crossing the Varia's long halls and descending staircase after staircase.

Tsuki wasn't really sure where the blonde assassin was taking her, but decided to just be patient and wait. They went down two more staircases, down a hall the brunette had never even noticed existed and down some more stairs.

It wasn't until they came to a stop in front of a door that Tsuki realized just where they were.

'Ah, we're not going to-'

'_Tsukiko-chaaaaan_~ wait a sec, hon!' Blinking, Tsuki closed her mouth, both her and Bel turning around to look for the owner of the overly-hyper voice that had interrupted them. Unsurprisingly, Lussuria was running their way, a sparkly pink aura surrounding him whole, making the man look rather like some weird kind of a fairy. 'You forgot your purse dear!'

Coming to a stop in front of Tsuki, the man pushed a bright pink handbag into the brunette's arms, causing said brunette to give him a confused look. Last time she checked, she didn't own anything as frilly and... _pink_ as this. She was about to protest, but Lussuria winked, giving her the thumbs up.

'You two make sure you have _lots _of fun, alright?' The man giggled before turning around and taking off again, leaving a confused Tsuki in his wake. She just stood there for a while longer, staring after the Varia sun guardian and then glancing down at the purse he'd given her.

Just what was all that about...?

'You coming peasant?'

'Eh? Ah, yeah...'

* * *

><p>As she got out of Belphegor's car, grabbing onto the nearby bench and trying to use it in order to steady herself, the brunette couldn't help but be angry at herself for not remembering that the man drove like a maniac. She'd have thought that after her drive of horror to the supermarket some months ago it'd have stuck with her.<p>

Apparently it didn't though, for she'd only too happily slipped into the passenger's seat, putting her seat belt on and waiting for Bel to join her. It wasn't until he was already backing out of the garage that Tsuki realized her huge mistake.

They'd swooshed down the Italian roads at breakneck speed, the blonde assassin snickering madly as he almost ran over two cats, an old lady crossing the street and some guy that swore like a sailor.

They had had to outrun the police several times as well, another near heart-stopping experience that Tsuki was in no hurry to ever repeat again.

Apparently, common driving regulations didn't apply to the blonde royal. Because he was a prince.

As it was only natural, the police didn't take that all too well, immediately starting to list off all of the things the self-proclaimed "prince" would be getting fined for (several of those included not stopping at red lights, driving on whichever lane he saw fit, causing a car wreck, failing to stop when the police demanded it and almost killing the mayor's wife's poodle).

If it was anyone else but the Varia's prodigy, they would've immediately been chucked in jail without second thought, but seeing as it was _Bel,_ all charges were "miraculously" dropped after he showed them one of his knives, making sure that they caught sight of the word "Varia" that was engraved on it.

It would seem like the Vongola and their team of elite assassins were pretty well-known around the particular area and even the police didn't dare oppose them. Rather, in exchange for the mafia famiglia protecting the town, they turned a blind eye on all of the Varia's wrongdoings.

Which was how they ended up in front of the movie theater some twenty minutes later, Tsuki feeling as carsick as one could get and Bel just grinning in satisfaction. There was no doubt that they could've avoided the whole police trouble had the blonde told them he was from the Varia earlier, but the assassin just liked causing trouble. Tsuki felt like it would be the end of her one day.

'Ushishi, you okay peasant?' Bel asked as he watched Tsuki hold onto the bench as if it were a lifeline, trying to stop the nauseating feeling from getting to her. The brunette would've very much liked to snap something like "do I look okay to you?" but decided not to in favor of not suddenly throwing up.

Why the hell had she drunk that much water before leaving the Varia castle? She knew it'd be a bad idea.

'Just give me a moment.' Tsuki managed to grunt, plopping herself down on the bench and leaning back. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the sounds all around her instead of the nausea she was momentarily feeling.

'Ushishi, didn't the peasant enjoy the ride?' The brunette only gave Bel a pointed look, causing the latter to laugh his peculiar laugh once again.

'Whatever,' she sighed. 'Lets just go...' Pushing herself off the bench, Tsuki followed the prince over to the cinema's entrance, pausing to look at the posters of what was being played that night.

There was a movie for children being played at the moment and later there would be a romance comedy. As her eyes fell on the tittle, Tsuki perked up considerably. She'd been wanting to see that for a while...!

Out of the corner of her eye, the young woman turned to look at Bel, silently touched by how considerate the man had been. He didn't seem like the kind of person that would enjoy a romantic comedy, to be doing this for her... she had totally misjudged him!

'Bel-'

'Hey peasant, hurry up. The movie's starting in ten minutes...' Tsuki blinked.

'But... it says eight thirty...' She said, looking at the blonde in confusion. 'It's barely ten to eight...' The brunette had a feeling that under all of that blonde hair, the prince was raising an eyebrow at her statement.

'What are you talking about? That's the movie we're going to.' The assassin announced, pointing at the poster behind him, causing Tsuki to blink, then turn her attention to it so that she could actually see what kind of a movie Belphegor had chosen.

Ah... she should've guessed...

But still... why _Saw_?

* * *

><p>Tsuki felt sick as she stared at the big screen, unable to tear her eyes away as she watched some poor guy trying to save his life. She knew there was a good reason for which she never saw any of those twisted movies, no matter how much her friends had bugged her about it.<p>

She was a romantic comedy kind of person, she liked stories with cliche happy endings and happily ever afters, not... _this_.

'Ushishi~' Belphegor snickered, as opposed to the brunette, he seemed to really be liking what he was seeing, constantly grinning and "ushishi"ing, his attention focused solely on the screen. It was quite honestly creepy. So creepy, in fact, that the people sitting around them had started to move over to unoccupied seats further away from them.

Tsuki sighed, she couldn't truthfully say she was surprised by something like this coming from Belphegor, rather, she should've expected that his idea of a romantic date would be watching a horror movie and laughing his ass off.

There had been times when she'd wondered about how it was possible for a guy like Bel (rich and something more than simply "good-looking") to have never had any kind of a relationship. If he could (as he had oh-so-subtly put it himself) get any woman that as much as caught his eye to go to bed with him, how come he wasn't able to get a date?

Now she knew though, it wasn't the getting her to agree to going on a date with him part that was hard, it was actually keeping said woman after having dragged her all throughout town doing things only someone as twisted as the ripper prince could possibly find enjoyable in any way.

Genius or not, Tsuki decided, when it came to how to treat a woman, Bel was completely clueless. Kind of sad, really.

'Ushishi, that was a good movie.' The prince said as he stood up, taking a moment to stretch his arms as he grinned widely. Absently, Tsuki nodded, it really _was_ well-thought and unexpected, it was a good film, just not _her_ kind of film. 'Shall we go eat something? The prince is hungry.'

'Eh? Ah, yeah...' Tsuki mumbled. 'Just let me use the toilet first...'

Taking her handbag (well, it was Lussuria's handbag to be frank), the young woman left the lobby and headed towards the ladies' room. No one was there so it didn't take her long to just get into a stall and do her business.

The real problem, however, showed itself while she was washing her hands a while later.

'Paper...' she said to herself, looking around. 'There's no paper...' How was she supposed to dry her hands without paper? She supposed she could always wipe it off on her clothes, but the brunette wasn't really fond of the idea.

Maybe Lussuria had put some paper tissues in the purse or something? Surely he wouldn't mind her taking just one, right? Taking a quick glance around her, Tsuki shrugged it off. Of course not, why would he?

She pulled the pink hand bag towards her and undid the zipper, pushing a lock of her brown hair behind her ear as she peaked inside it, her hand moving a bit so that she could get a better look.

She suddenly froze upon coming in contact with something. Something she _knew_ wasn't a paper tissue.

_Oh... oh dear..._

Tsuki gulped, unsure of how she was supposed to react as her eyes settled on the object she had just pulled out of Lussuria's handbag. It was indeed not a tissue, she hadn't expected it to be with how cold and solid it felt against her skin, but as the saying went, curiosity killed the cat. And there she stood now, in a public bathroom, a pair of hot pink handcuffs in her hand.

It couldn't be...

Reaching out for the bag again, Tsuki looked inside. Condoms, cat ears, a collar... was that a whip...?

_You two make sure you have **lots** of fun, alright? _Tsuki turned beet red as she remembered Lussuria's words, the reason why he had forced her to take this bag along suddenly becoming painfully clear.

Oh god.

'Mommy, mommy look! Pink handcuffs! Can I have pink handcuffs? Please mommy! Please!'

As the six-year-old's mother gave Tsuki a dirty look, dragging her kid away from the toilets, the brunette just wished the world would open up and swallow her whole.

* * *

><p>Up until that fateful evening of her date with Belphegor, Tsuki had never thought something could be more embarrassing (or nerve-wrecking) than having to stand up and recite a caption learned by heart in front of a total of twenty-something classmates.<p>

It had literally been her biggest nightmare for years, her nerves and pure anxiety about saying something wrong always managing to keep the brunette up late at night when such a presentation had been hinted.

She always got good marks of course, but she still couldn't help but worry.

Now though, she knew better. In comparison to walking down the crowded streets of Italy with a whole lot of sex toys in your handbag, a measly little presentation in front of a bunch of kids that would most likely not be paying any attention to you anyway seemed like nothing.

It _was_ nothing.

'Ushishi~ what's the matter, peasant?' The blonde prince suddenly asked, snapping Tsuki out of her thoughts as she turned to look at him. 'You've been distracted for a while now.'

'Eh? Um, it- it's nothing...'

The answer obviously didn't convince Bel and the man raised an eyebrow underneath the curtain of blonde that covered his blue eyes. He remained silent though, pulling the brunette inside a fancy restaurant that had caught his attention instead.

It was big and obviously expensive, several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a mini-fountain situated in the middle of the room. If the restaurant's name (_La côte d'or_) was anything to go by, they'd be having French cuisine that night.

Tsuki couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious as she looked around her. Everyone in there seemed to be so rich and elegant... dressed in dresses and suits Tsuki could never even dream of affording with the paycheck she'd had as a cashier back in Venice.

Despite knowing about Belphegor's rather expensive tastes (a prince could have nothing but the absolute best, after all), this was going a bit too far. Wouldn't it have been the same to go somewhere less... posh?

Spotting an empty table, the couple walked over to it, seating themselves down and taking a moment to look through the menu in silence. Belphegor seemed to have no problem as he chose a few of the most expensive things on there, not looking like he cared if Mammon had him lynched later on for spending that much money in just one night. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about the brunette. Never before in her life, had Tsuki felt more lost. Not one, not a _single_ food of the ones listed off rang a bell inside the brunette's head.

'Uh... I'll have the...' Tsuki paused, glancing at the waiter and then at Bel who had decided that exact same moment to be perfectly unhelpful and just snicker as he watched her struggle with the unknown language.

The jerk, he _had_ to know she knew next to nothing about France and its cuisine. How could she? She hadn't grown up as the princess of a kingdom somewhere on the other side of Europe, she'd grown up in Namimori, a perfectly small and ordinary town.

...er... yeah, maybe not so much the _ordinary_ part after all... since good number of its residents had ended up somehow involved with the Italian mafia...

But that aside, she'd had a completely normal and middle-class upbringing. How was she supposed to know what all those weird foods listed on the menu were?

'This here...' Tsuki finally decided, pointing at the least expensive of the foods. She wasn't quite sure what she'd chosen, but she only hoped it would actually be something to her liking.

The waiter nodded, writing it down and asking them if they would like anything to drink. Taking note of their order (a glass of water and some ridiculously expensive drink Tsuki was starting to think Bel only bought to be able to try and cause Mammon a heart failure by showing her the bill later on), the man was off, leaving the brunette alone with the assassin once again.

'Ushishi~ you've been holding that bag rather tightly for a while now peasant.' The blonde prince noted, his eyes focused on the pink bag given to the young woman by Lussuria. He had no doubt Tsuki's weird behavior had something to do with it, he would even bet his _crown_ on it. She had after all taken the handbag with her to the bathroom just before they left the cinema and that was exactly when she started to act strange in the first place. She hadn't let go of the thing once, constantly looking around her nervously, as if expecting someone to suddenly jump out and try to take it from her . 'Did you find a million and decided to nick it or something?'

'Eh? W-what? Of course not...!' Bel frowned, unhappy that "his peasant" was keeping something from him. He was the prince after all, and he didn't like not knowing stuff. Just then though, another thought entered his mind and, unable to resist the temptation of it, he grinned, the Cheshire cat grin for which he was so infamous for growing bigger and bigger as he spoke his following words.

'Then maybe you've filled it with kinky stuff you don't want anyone to know about...?' Tsuki's face turned into an interesting shade of red at that moment, her eyes widening and her grip unconsciously tightening over the bag in her hands as she started stuttering incoherently, blushing redder by the second.

The prince blinked then, quite honestly caught by surprise.

'Wait, you did?'

'W-w-w-wha- o-of course not! I-I-I-' Tsuki wove her arms around frantically, trying to deny the prince's words, a look of pure horror written all over her features. Bel couldn't help but grin even more at that, making himself truly look like the madman he was.

'Ushishi, who knew the peasant had such a dirty mind~?'

'I-I already told you I didn't...!' The brunette whisper-shouted and her "husband" chuckled, quite obviously amused by the whole situation.

'Whatever helps you sleep at night peasant~' Tsuki seemed ready to protest again, but the prince was faster, snickering once before apparently taking pity on the brunette and changing the subject.

Dinner was, surprisingly, quite pleasant for both the prince and "peasant". Their food arrived soon enough and Tsuki was relieved to find out what she had randomly chosen out of the menu was actually chicken and not some weird-ass food she'd never eaten before. What was even more surprising, was that they actually managed to have a civilized conversation for once and, despite the not-so-great time she had at the movies, Tsuki really found herself enjoying dinner as Bel retold her stories of missions and battles about some rings as well as one that had apparently taken place just about a month before she'd arrived. Something about a freaky marshmallow peasant, parallel worlds and Mammon coming back from the dead. Tsuki wasn't quite sure how much of it was actually true, some of the stuff sounded simply too far fetched to really have been able to have happened. But either way, the brunette enjoyed listening to the prince describing all those intense battles, losing track of time as they just sat there.

He had a way of talking that just caught the brunette's attention and, if you ignored the really gory parts that were never absent, Belphegor didn't make half bad a story teller. Most likely because he was so into retelling said story that it wasn't possible for the listener not to get engrossed as well and listen as he announced "the adventures of prince Belphegor".

* * *

><p>'Ushishi, put some music on, would you peasant?' Bel called out as they drove through the Italian streets some time later, a big grin stretched across his lips as he watched Tsuki from the corner of his eye.<p>

The brunette was leaning back in her seat, her eyes closed as she held onto Lussuria's handbag tightly, trying to fight off the nausea that was once again threatening to overtake.

'What...?' She asked, daring to open one eye in order to look at the blonde prince.

'It's too quiet in here, I've got some CDs in the glove box. Just choose one and put it in.'

'Ah... sure...' Straightening herself, Tsuki dared glance at the road, thank god, no apparent corners ahead. That must mean they'd be back at the Varia castle soon enough.

Doing as Bel had instructed her, Tsuki pulled out the CDs she found in the glove box, starting to look through them for something that sounded good.

It wasn't until about half an hour later that they finally reached the Varia's garage, the booming music most probably having alerted the other assassins of their return already.

Bel turned the engine off, stopping the music as he did so, dumping the place in complete silence. Annoyingly enough though, Tsuki's ears didn't stop ringing. Ugh, stupid music.

'Um... well, thanks for the date Bel, it was- it was nice.' Tsuki smiled a little, not a hundred percent sure of what she should say exactly. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly, biting her lip as she looked around her a bit. 'Well then, I'll just be-'

Before she could finish what it was she wanted to say, the blonde grabbed Tsuki's hand, pulling her back and turning her to face him, crashing their lips together. Tsuki's eyes widened, gasping in surprise as she felt his hot tongue slip inside her mouth, eagerly exploring her. It took her a moment or two to gather her thoughts, her face blushing bright red as she kissed back, closing her eyes and moaning softly into the kiss.


	20. Unexpected meeting

'Um... Levi-san...?' Tsuki questioned as she looked around her, frowning slightly as she failed to spot the Varia's thunder guardian among the crowd that was surrounding her. She bit her lip and looked down at the drawing Lussuria had equipped her with just before she left the mansion about half an hour ago. It was a map, the directions to the butcher's, the laundrette and the post office drawn down on it clearly, little arrows showing her the roads she had to follow in order to get to each location. The flamboyant man had said Levi (who was the only one who had no work to do that morning) would help her get there if there were any problems, and the man _had_ indeed been there up until a few seconds ago... but that wasn't the case any longer.

Tsuki spent a few more moments trying to distinguish a tall muscular figure carrying six umbrella-like weapons on his back, but soon gave up when she realized he indeed wasn't there. Which was pretty weird, because she'd been under the impression that, with him wanting to be in Xanxus's good graces and all, he wouldn't let her out of his sight for even a moment, making another undoubtedly failed attempt at gaining some sort of a praise from his boss. The only one that didn't seem to see that that was most likely never going to happen though, seemed to be Levi.

But still, why give up now? That was just confusing, Tsuki thought. And besides, what happened to her not being allowed to go outside unaccompanied? Even though Squalo was still recovering (limping around on crutches since his injuries had not yet completely healed but he refused to be bedridden any longer), he had made it painfully clear that she was not to go anywhere without one of the Varia's elite being with her.

And she hadn't- up until now...

Belphegor had always been with her wherever she went (since this was all "his shitty fault in the first place" as Squalo had phrased it), those few weeks in Sienna being the only exception. Because well... Squalo hadn't been there to hack them into little pieces, that as well as the fact that Bel had cared little about Tsuki's personal well-being back then. She could still remember the psychopath threatening her with one of his knives on several occasions...

But other than their brief stay in Sienna, she hadn't really been anywhere on her own. She shouldn't have been now either, she had after all left with a pretty grumpy Levi in tow after all, but for some reason her escort seemed to be absent now.

Sighing, Tsuki glanced back down at the paper again, thinking over her options. She could either turn around and go search for Levi or she could go get the stuff she needed on her own, get back to Lussuria in time and thus avoid Xanxus's wrath. On the downside though, Squalo wouldn't be too happy about her wandering around without anyone to accompany her... but it wasn't like _Tsuki_ had ditched_ Levi_. Quite on the contrary actually, Levi had been the one to ditch her. Not that Squalo would really care about that, he'd probably try to slice them both to ribbons.

But when comparing Xanxus' wrath to Squalo's... well, it wasn't hard to decide which one she'd rather keep pleased.

'Okay...' Tsuki breathed, bringing her eyes back to the paper in her hand again. 'Lets hope Lussuria gave me the right directions...'

* * *

><p>First up, the brunette decided, was the butcher's.<p>

It wasn't that far away and, thankfully, the directions provided by Lussuria proved to be quite easy to follow. Just three blocks down from where she'd lost Levi, "Antonio's high-quality meat" was located, it was quite a popular shop, if the number of people already gathered there was anything to go by.

Of course, what else could you have expected from the shop from which _Xanxus_ got his meat? Anything but the best in Italy would be unacceptable, which was why Tsuki supposed that they were lucky that "the best in Italy" was located close by. The wine of course... well, that was a whole different matter altogether.

Lussuria had said something about using the reputation of the Varia to get through the queues, and Tsuki had to admit that upon seeing just how many people had been gathered around, it had seemed like quite an appealing idea, but she preferred not to. Other than the fact they most likely would not even believe her with how unlike Varia material she looked, doing something like that would also be abusing the power (as tiny as the amount was) she got from being under Bel's protection and now apparently (as he had seemed to decide all on his own after the kiss they'd shared), the power she got from being his girlfriend. And that wouldn't make her any better than that irritating woman she'd so much despised back at her previous job in Venice, would it? Her boss's wife... that awful, bossy, rude, annoying, stuck up-

Tsuki stopped herself, letting out a sigh and wondering why the hell her mind was suddenly turned to Paola and her bitchy attitude. That seemed like ages away now...

'Miss?' The man behind the counter said, clearing his throat before repeating himself, trying to get her attention. 'Miss, it's your turn.'

'Ah?' Blinking her eyes, Tsuki looked around, not quite sure when she had gotten to the front of the line, but happy about it all the same. 'Oh, er, thanks. I want...' She paused for a moment, pulling a second paper out of her coat and quickly reading it over. 'Right, um, the usual order to the Varia castle please. By six, if that would be possible.'

The man just ogled at her, and everyone else that seemed to have heard her words moved away a bit as well, a fearful look crossing their features. Ah... so the Varia was pretty well known around there too then... Tsuki shifted awkwardly.

Finally seeming to pull himself together, the shop owner quickly nodded, opening his mouth to speak again.

'W-will you be paying now, miss?'

'Yes, yes of course.' The man seemed a little less pale as he took the money from her and hurried to give her a receipt. Tsuki raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, thinking that as the Varia's regular meat provider, he had probably been through quite a lot while doing his job. She nodded her thanks and was off then.

Picking up the Varia's uniforms from the laundrette (Bel's mink had somehow managed to burn all of their washing machines to ashes while he'd been left unsupervised for a little while) went pretty much the same way as things had gone at the butcher's, and Tsuki had to admit that it made her feel kind of uncomfortable. All the staring and flinching and simply staying out of her way, because really, it was ridiculous... she couldn't even hurt a fly, she cried at the sight of cockroaches and even the smallest amount of blood made her sick.

She was practically harmless.

But other people didn't seem to see it that way though, just being _associated _with the Varia seemed to have labeled her as a person not wise to mess with. Not that Tsuki could really blame them for thinking like that, because really, she'd most likely have done the exact same thing as well back before she had gone and gotten herself married to the prince of the Varia.

So all that was really left now, was the post office. Unfortunately, Tsuki never made it that far.

The young woman was just getting out of the laundrette, her mind on what she was going to do when she was done with the post office, when she bumped into someone, making her drop the bag she was holding in surprise. She blinked a couple of times, quickly kneeling down to pick it up.

'I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was...' Tsuki stopped talking mid-sentence, the apologetic smile sliding off her lips as she stared up at the familiar face, her jaw slackening and dropping open.

'Tsuki...?' The guy standing there questioned, looking quite surprised himself. He shifted a bit uncomfortably when she didn't immediately answer, straightening up and trying to sort out her thoughts instead. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but it was a while before any kind of a sound managed to come out.

'Diego...' Tsuki breathed, taking in the man before her. The blonde hair, green eyes... and that distinctly Italian nose, it _had _to be him. He was even wearing that red shirt he had always seemed to like so much. 'What- what are you doing here...?' She would've wished to come up with something more interesting, or intelligent, to say but right now she was lucky to have been able to think of even that. The blonde in front of her also seemed to be at loss of words, just as surprised as she was to come across each other in this unlikely place.

How had he even gotten there...? He lived in Venice, and last time Tsuki checked, he had no reason to cross half of Italy to get over to where they currently were.

'Uh... well,' He finally seemed to catch up to her question, running a hand through his hair and avoiding her face as he let out a nervous laugh. 'I spent holidays at Meghan's place and- er- I was just passing by...' Tsuki tried to not show any outward reaction to that knowledge, simply nodding her head. Surprisingly though , she found out it wasn't all that hard once she focused on Bel... that grin and the utterly ridiculous tiara (which he still refused to call anything but a crown), she could almost see him in front of her, wearing his favorite black and purple striped shirt, twirling a silver knife around his fingers as he sniggered. Suddenly, what Diego said didn't affect her all that much anymore. 'I had no idea you were still in Italy.' The blonde Italian was still talking 'Not that I'm not happy to see you! Just, I thought you'd have gone back to Japan by now...'

'Um, yeah, some stuff happened and... I'm still here...' Tsuki mumbled and thought that, if it wasn't for meeting Bel and getting dragged into this whole mafia business, that was most probably what she'd have done. It wasn't like she had any other reason to stay behind anyway. 'Look, er, I've still got some stuff to do so-'

'Wait, Tsuki! I'm sorry about what happened.' Diego blurted out as he grabbed her wrist, yanking her backwards and almost causing her to lose her balance. Tsuki just blinked, eying Diego warily. 'Just a moment alright? Listen to me. I know it was a mistake and-'

'Diego, I- you're hurting me, let go.' Her resistance only seemed to make him more desperate, grabbing both of Tsuki's hands and making escape practically impossible. She frowned, trying to pull herself free, but he wouldn't let go.

'I'm sorry. Look, I know I was wrong and-'

'Diego, _please_.' The brunette hissed. 'You're making a scene.' And indeed he was, several people had turned to see what the hustle was about, but her ex didn't seem to mind that, simply going on as if she had never interrupted him in the first place.

'Just give me a second chance, I'll make it up to you.' She didn't know if he really meant it or not, but all Tsuki wanted right now was to get away from Diego. He was scaring her, and she tried to show this by attempting to pull away again, but he wouldn't let her.

'Diego-'

'Just one chance, Tsuki. We'll be like we used to.' She protested as he closed in, trying to push him away. She knew what he wanted to do, and right now, the very thought of kissing Diego... kissing anyone but Bel so shortly after her date... she didn't want it.

She had been just fine without him, and even though living with a crazy bunch of assassins wasn't exactly the happy cozy little life she had always imagined for herself, she realized that she _had_ been quite happy during the time she had spent with Bel those last few days. He had been pretty civil towards her, that of course not meaning that he was any less like his usual arrogant self... but still, he hadn't attempted to stab her or anything, that apparently glorious pastime seemed to have been replaced with rounds of his newly discovered "be as perverted as you can and see how many shades of red Tsuki's face will go through" game. He seemed to know just what to say to make her turn scarlet in an instant. Tsuki was quite happy, and she didn't want her ex getting involved again, he had caused her enough grieve as it was.

She was no genius, but she was no idiot either. Tsuki wasn't one of those lovesick girls who would run back to their ex at the first semi-apology, forgetting all that had happened before only to get hurt again, possibly worse this time. She knew that being with Bel had its risks too, and she was aware of the fact the chances of her being hurt again while with him were high (possibly higher than with Diego), but she was also positive that Bel would not do something as lowly as Diego had. He wouldn't cheat on her, perhaps not because he was fair or honest, but because he simply believed to be above that. Bel might not be a considerate person, and he might not care much about the people surrounding him, but that was also exactly why she at least wouldn't be lied to this time around.

Tsuki knew that if he were to get bored of her, the blonde assassin would simply tell her. Unlike her ex, who had been indecisive up until now, prince Belphegor always knew exactly what he wanted.

'Diego, stop it! I'm serious!' For the first time, Tsuki raised her voice as well, new-found vigor burning in her eyes as she glared at Diego, forcefully pushing him back and trying to increase the distance between them. The words rolled off her tongue naturally, before she even had the time to comprehend what she was saying. 'I'm married!'

The words halted him right away, and Tsuki let out a huge sigh of relief, managing to free herself from his grip and take a few steps back as Diego simply stood there looking dumbstruck.

It was obvious that whatever he'd been expecting to come out of her mouth, that exclamation was not it.

'What...?' He finally whispered, still looking at her with that astonished look which was something between surprise and sheer disbelief.

'I'm married...' Tsuki repeated, surprising even herself by how confident she sounded. 'I'm married and I love my husband very much. So stay away from me. It's too late.'

She turned around to walk away, Diego efficiently silenced. But once again, luck didn't seem to be on her side. Before she had the time to realize what was going on, let alone react, someone grabbed Tsuki's arm and hauled her into the nearest alleyway.

Next thing she knew, a man was standing in front of her, a knife being pointed at her face threateningly.


	21. An eye for an eye

_Next thing she knew, a man was standing in front of her, a knife being pointed at her face threateningly._

For a few moments, Tsuki could only stand there frozen, her eyes wide in fear as the man in front of her pressed his knife against her neck, growling in what the brunette could only interpret as pure bone-chilling hatred. She couldn't see him, he had a hood pulled over his head hiding a large portion of it, but even without being able to see the man, Tsuki knew he couldn't be a common street thug. His clothes looked too expensive for that.

Was it something- something _mafia related_ then...? Tsuki hesitated, thinking that she did not _really_ want to find out. She would give anything to just be back at the castle now, being objected to Bel's favorite "make Tsuki blush" game and Squalo's ear-piercing screams. Anywhere but where she was now, pinned to a dirty alleyway wall by a complete stranger who seemed ready to slice her throat in an instant. The brunette tried not to think of the cool metal against her neck, not wanting to start hyperventilating and get herself killed. But the more she tried not to think of it, the harder the knife felt against her neck.

Tsuki gulped, trying to take a few calming breaths as she dared look up at the man in front of her. His grip on her wrist was seriously starting to hurt her, but the young woman didn't dare say that. She didn't dare say anything as he inspected her closely.

'Finally.' He murmured, a grim sort of smile appearing on his lips. 'Prince The Ripper's wife. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get to you?'

The brunette suddenly regretted reading so many books with this exact cliché kind of plot, the kind of story in which a girl fell in love with some rich guy, and then the rich guy and her came together, but some time after that the girl was abducted by a random guy that wanted revenge/money/was jealous and then the rich guy had to save the girl. Of course, all those books had had happy endings (Tsuki was a total sucker for them after all), but this was the real world, the _mafia_ world, and Tsuki was pretty sure that there were hardly ever any happy endings there. Plus, the guy she had married wasn't just some "rich guy" either, he was one of the mafia's most feared assassins, and Tsuki was certain that that made her position about a million times worse than all those girls' in the books.

'I was truly surprised when the thunder guardian decided to leave you alone you know, but this works out...' The man went on, efficiently gaining Tsuki's attention again. 'I had been planning on sneaking into their castle if worse came to worst... but this way, I might even get away with my life.'

He laughed a little and Tsuki grimaced as the knife was pressed against her neck with a bit more force, breaking through her skin and causing a few drops of blood to trickle out. She winced, not liking the sensation at all, but she still remained silent. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was this, opening her mouth and saying anything right now would not help improve her situation.

'Oh, Prince The Ripper will catch up to me eventually...' The man was still talking, and much to Tsuki's discomfort he seemed to be enjoying watching her squirm, trapped between the wall and himself. 'He's one of their best, so it really is just a matter of time... but until then I'll get to see him suffer, just like I did.'

Clearly, this guy had met her accidental husband before... and if his words were anything to go by, Belphegor had done something to him, something that was bad enough for this person to want revenge. Clearly, this guy also thought that her death would leave Prince The Ripper in ruins...

But Bel was hardly just anybody, was he? He was a prince, as he never forgot to remind anyone and if Tsuki had to be completely honest with herself, even she wasn't exactly sure what state her death would leave the blonde assassin in. She wasn't asking for him to be crying his eyes out or visit her grave every few weeks for that just wouldn't be like Bel, but she'd like to think that if she were to die she'd be remembered, not just like someone that had just been there at some point of his life, but as someone that had actually _mattered_.

She couldn't help but wonder, just what _was_ she to Belphegor? She was his wife (by accident) and she was his lover (intentionally), but what else? What did she, as a person, mean to the prince of the Varia?

There were times that she really didn't know what to think, times that Tsuki just found herself at complete loss when she thought of the complex being that was Belphegor. He was just so guarded that the thick net of emotions and thoughts buried down deep inside him was nearly impossible to unravel... but there were those rare times too, those few moments when she got close enough to him to see his eyes, those beautiful blue jewels, it was during those moments that everything was clear.

Belphegor was so much like a child sometimes, uncertain and still only now finding out what he was feeling. Tsuki wasn't sure if it was _love_, but there was definitely something there. And it was sad really, that he had to reach twenty-seven before ever being able to feel it.

Yes, Tsuki finally decided, her death _would_ affect him. But if anything, it wouldn't leave him in ruins, it would send him into a rage, a burning fury that wouldn't be satisfied until he had his revenge. This guy, whoever he was, was right. Bel would catch up with him eventually, and when he did, he would kill him. And he would make him suffer, Tsuki was sure that if she died today the guy responsible for it would face the full wrath of Belphegor, and it wouldn't be pretty.

'Cat got your tongue, princess?' The man sneered. 'Or are you a queen now?'

'Sir, I- _please_-' Tsuki rasped, hoping beyond belief that this man had still a bit of humanity left in him, that he would drop the knife and miraculously let her go. She had never done anything to him, she was completely innocent. But that was not how things worked in the mafia, was it? No... she had gotten involved with Bel, and that was enough of a reason to use her against him. Wasn't that why people like him tried to distance themselves from others in the first place anyway? So that this exact thing wouldn't happen?

Friends and family might be considered a strength for normal people, but for the mafia Tsuki realized, they were nothing but a weakness, especially if they, like her, had zero fighting capabilities.

'I'm sorry, _your highness_, but I can't let you go...' He taunted her, and Tsuki tried to at least move her wrist a bit, get her blood circulation moving again for it was starting to be painful. 'Now be quiet, and I'll make your death less painful for you.'

* * *

><p>As Levi got out of the liquor store, carrying a bottle of Xanxus' favorite wine under his arm, he felt like his day couldn't possibly get any better.<p>

He had finally managed to get his hands on his boss's favorite wine (after literally _hours_ of trying to find the right store) and he was certain Xanxus would be very pleased by his hard work. Maybe, the man couldn't help but optimistically hope, he would even be praised for his efforts. Such an honor that would be...

And yet, Levi thought as he walked down the pavement frowning a little, there was a small, nagging feeling in the back of his mind, an annoying little..._ something_ that kept irritating him non-stop, as if there was something that he was forgetting. Something rather important... But what could it possibly be? He had his boss's wine and there were no missions scheduled for him today, it was after all the reason for which he had been sent out there in the first place, to accompany Belphegor's girlfriend. Really, all that that blonde demon brought was trouble, always, since day one with the Varia. Levi mentally nodded, the damn guy was always leaving around-

Hold on.

_He had been sent out to accompany Aohana Tsukiko._

Levi quickly looked around him, a feeling similar to panic starting to surface now that the realization had finally dawned him. He tried to distinguish the woman's brown head among the crowd, but this being one of the more crowded parts of town, it was impossible.

Where was Aohana Tsukiko?

He could feel his mind racing fast, gory images of just what Belphegor was going to do to him if something had happened to his girlfriend racing through his mind... horrible flashes of a fate filled with pain, suffering and possible severance of several body parts played out vividly inside his brain, making the assassin gulp... and to think, that was just the best case scenario...

He had to find her. Now.

* * *

><p>'Don't take this personally or anything, you seem like an alright kind of girl, really...' The man said as he moved his knife away from her neck again, apparently wanting to give some thought to what exactly he was going to do with her before actually killing her. He didn't seem to have the whole thing planned out yet, which was at least one good thing. Tsuki now really wished she'd taken up some self-defense lessons while with the Varia though, it was a castle filled with assassins anyway so <em>someone <em>should have been willing, then maybe her chances of actually getting out of this wouldn't be so low. 'If you want anyone to blame for what is about to happen to you, then blame your husband.'

She watched the man apprehensively as he inched closer again, his knife held in a way that even Tsuki, who'd never used a knife for anything else other than to chop up tomatoes, knew he was ready to attack. It was something about his stance, something about the way he gripped the knife's hilt tighter that tipped her off. She wished there'd be a distraction, anything, just for a moment so that she could run and get back to the main street. With a bit of luck she might even manage to shake him off her trail, at least long enough for her to find Levi, or contact Bel.

She tried to be inconspicuous as she carefully put her hand inside her pocket, feeling around for the silver blade which was in there. She felt stupid for always having tried to somehow leave it behind, not wanting to be caught wandering around with one of Bel's weirdly-shaped knives on her. She was just grateful the blonde was insistent as hell and forced her to take the weapon along whether she wanted it or not. Obviously, he'd had a more clear idea of all the dangers that were out there...

'It's quite unexpected, isn't it?' The man hummed then, getting closer to Tsuki as he went on, sounding quite curious indeed. 'That a non-combatant like you would be Prince The Ripper's chosen partner... you'd think he wouldn't want someone weak like that... a woman like you, I would've guessed, would most likely be his victim...' His face hardened then, and had Tsuki not already been flattened up against the wall, she'd have backed off.

His next words were growled out, and they made the brunette flinch.

'My wife was a lot like you after all, and he sure did not seem to have any qualms about killing _her_.' His fists clenched and Tsuki could finally see what this was all about... an eye for an eye they said... so he wanted to take Tsuki's life in exchange for that of his wife's, the life Belphegor had taken away from him.

Not for the first time, she found herself wondering just this one question. _Why her? _There were more than 7000 billion people on Earth, so why was it her that always ended up in these kinds of situations? Luck really seemed to dislike her company lately, didn't it?

'I had a daughter too, you know.' The man was still talking, and despite the fact he was her soon-to-be killer, Tsuki couldn't help the sympathy that rose inside of her as his voice cracked. 'She wasn't even out of school yet... I was supposed to go to her piano recital on that day. They never hurt anyone. They didn't even know about my involvement with the mafia. They did nothing wrong! Nothing!'

Tsuki let out a startled gasp, her eyes wide as she ducked on instinct, the blade in the man's hand getting stabbed in the wall behind her with such force it actually got stuck there. She just gaped at it for a beat before her mind kicked itself into motion again and, grabbing her chance, the brunette ran for it.

* * *

><p>'C-commander? It's Levi.'<p>

'VOOOOOIIIIII! What it, you scum? This better be important!' Levi only gulped, clearing his throat awkwardly as he stood in the middle of the crowded street, still Tsuki-less, much to his displeasure. It had been a while now though, and Levi had to admit it... he'd lost her. Aohana Tsukiko had slipped right under his nose and he had failed to notice. Because he was out buying his boss wine...

He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the 3rd world war that was undoubtedly about to commence when he announced the news.

'Yes, it is. Is... is Belphegor there?' He hesitated, hoping beyond believe that the swordsman's answer would be negative, and for a moment he almost sighed in relief.

'The bastard's still sorting through paperwork!' But it was too soon to rejoice... 'I'll connect you!'

'No! No! No! Wait- don't-!'

'Ushishi, this is the prince.'

'Ah, uh, Bel...' There was a small pause before the prince answered, apparently having recognized the voice and matched it to its owner.

'Oh, it's you.' Belphegor sounded downright disappointed. 'What do you want, peasant?'

Levi cleared his throat, preparing himself not only mentally but physically as well so that as soon as he was done with the phone call he could run, run as fast as his feet could carry him and hope that they, or more specifically _he_, wouldn't catch up. He should go hide in Alaska... maybe the prince wouldn't find him there. He could start a life there, live on fish and sleep in... er... well, he could still figure out that part of the plan later, in fact, he should call that Sawada what's-his-name-again guy immediately and ask him to book him a flight the soonest possible. But no- if it was a Vongola craft then Bel could still-

'Peasant? You still there? Hellooo?'

'Ah, yes... er... listen, Bel-'

'Is the prince's peasant there?' The blonde sniggered, completely disregarding the fact that he had just interrupted his teammate. 'I want to talk to her.' Levi felt his heart stop right then and there, this was without doubt the last question he'd wanted Bel to ask.

'About that... it's actually the reason I called...' He forced the words out, the sooner he said it, the sooner he could start working on his escapade.

'Oh?' His tone of voice suggested that under all of that blonde hair, Bel had lifted an eyebrow curiously.

'Yes... some things happened and now... I've lost Aohana Tsukiko...'

* * *

><p>Tsuki's heavy pants carried throughout the empty alleyways as she ran around the corner, still able to hear the man's heavy footsteps right behind her. Her legs hurt like hell and her lungs were burning, but even now, <em>especially<em> now, she kept on pushing herself further. One step after the other. Left, right, left, right, left-

She took a look over her shoulder and immediately regretted it. He was even closer to her than he'd been a few seconds ago!

The brunette tried to push herself to go faster, she really did, but it was no use. She had never been much of a runner, preferring to simply sit out PE and read a book instead, the result being that now, when she actually needed it, she had no stamina at all. She could feel herself slowing down, either that, or the guy was getting faster... but that was unlikely. Not that which of the two it was really mattered right now, for either way he was catching up to her, and when he reached her... Tsuki tried not to think of that yet.

She clutched Bel's silver knife tightly, knowing that if the worst came she'd have to use it. She didn't like the idea, and when she thought of the motives which had made him come after her in the first place, it made her feel even worse. But Tsuki liked living, and as surprised as even she was to admit it, she enjoyed spending time with her psychopathic husband. She didn't want to die, she didn't want her time with Belphegor to be interrupted so abruptly.

'I've got you now!' The man cried out in triumph and Tsuki let out a startled yelp when he tackled her from behind, pushing both her and himself to the ground. It hurt, falling always hurt, but Tsuki would even dare say she didn't feel it almost at all, her attention was focused on the piercing pain in her abdomen instead.

She suddenly felt sick again as red started staining her shirt, tears building up in her eyes. Damn. Damn. Damn. He'd stabbed her. It didn't look like anything fatal, thankfully, but it still hurt like hell. Oh damn. Shit. It _hurt_. Tsuki could remember being stabbed only once before, Bel had done it to snap her out of an illusion, but this... it hurt way more... maybe because Bel hadn't actually been aiming to kill.

'It hurts right?' The man hissed as he yanked her up and turned her around a bit too roughly. Tsuki whimpered in pain, closing her eyes for a moment and wishing he'd at least mind her wound. She was facing him now but she'd give anything not to have to, the look on his face was just too disturbing. 'My wife and daughter were scared and in pain too... only that what they got was worse, much worse. But unfortunately I don't have all that I need to make you suffer the way they did, so this knife will just have to do...'

'Look, I-'

'Shut up!' Tsuki flinched, barely having the time to react as the knife came down on her. Her hands shot out as she started to thrash about violently, trying to kick him off her as her hands held his knife away from her face. He was a whole deal stronger than her, but having a woman underneath him, kicking with all her might, distracted him enough for Tsuki to be able to at least hold his hands (and together with those, his _weapon_) away from her. 'You bitch! I'll-!'

'Get away from me!' It was with new-found strength, an adrenaline rush was what her mind had called it as, that Tsuki was able to push him over, reversing their positions. She immediately wished she hadn't done it though, for he grabbed her, holding her tightly and stopping her from getting up and running again.

It was an accident. It truly was, she hadn't wanted to die, but never had she meant for things to turn out like that either.

His grip on her hair hurt, but she didn't mind that as much as the knife that kept frantically trying to hit her. It terrified Tsuki, despite being in a theoretically advantageous position, the one that had the upper hand was undoubtedly the man. She panicked. Wouldn't anyone have?

And then she felt the cool silver metal in her hand, Bel's shiny little knife.

She had meant it to only be a distraction, the pain would make him reflexively let go, and then she could run. That was all she'd wanted.

She couldn't see well, tears were clouding her vision and as she gripped the knife tightly, she couldn't help but chant, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" over and over again. She let out a strangled sob as the man cried out, but he didn't let go off her. He clutched onto her as if his life depended on it, ignoring the obvious pain he must've been in and blindly trying to hit her.

There was no other way out of it, it was either him or her.

Tsuki tried not to think of what she was doing, tears streaming down her cheeks endlessly as she recited her mantra again and again. She heard the clang of the man's knife hitting the ground and she felt him still beneath her. Her hands were sticky, covered in blood, just like the knife was, and there was that awful smell in the air. That metallic stench... she had smelled it before. That was-

_Dear god, no. No. No. It couldn't be..._

The knife slipped out of her grip as Tsuki looked at the man she was standing over in horror, all that blood... he was so pale... completely motionless.

_No. No. Please. This can't be happening._

She gagged, and Tsuki barely had the time to jump away from the man before she was violently sick. She didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was all there, the blood, and Belphegor's knife...

She had killed someone. She had murdered a fellow living person.


	22. Nightmare

Her gut told her to run away, and for once, Tsuki listened to it.

She didn't pause to think over her actions as she pushed herself up and turned around, trying to ignore the sharp pain in her abdomen as she started to move, holding on to the wall with her one hand as the other covered her wound. She didn't really know where she was going but she didn't really care either, she didn't mind where that alleyway would lead her, just as long as it was far away from _him_. She couldn't bear to watch him any longer, motionless and covered in blood, the knife wounds that _she_ had inflicted on him so painfully obvious through his torn pullover. It just made this nightmare all the more real for her.

And Tsuki didn't want to believe it, she just wanted to wake up and find out that this was all just a dream, that she had not just killed a man and that she wasn't trying to get away from his corpse, covered in not only her own blood but the man's as well.

She wanted to wake up and find herself surrounded by the Varia's assassins, listening to Squalo scream, and watching Bel snicker as their boss smashed a wine glass against his second-in-command's head, trying to shut him up but instead only making the man angrier (and even more _vocal_) than he already was. She just wanted everything to be normal again so badly. But she knew it wasn't possible.

Because the stench of blood that was all around her was no lie, and neither was the pain in her abdomen. She faintly wondered whether she should not be moving that much for a moment, but brushed the thought aside. She couldn't stop now, she couldn't get caught.

The only thing she could do was go on, walk as fast and as far as her exhausted legs could carry her and hope to get as far away from the man as possible. She was no genius, but even to her this was clear, the man would surely be discovered soon enough, for even if he was in a dark alleyway people tended to avoid, sooner or later someone would have to pass by, and then, then Tsuki was sure that the area's police would be all over the place in no time, and surely it wouldn't take them long to somehow track that man's murder back to her.

And that idea terrified her, it shook her to the core, the thought that she might be caught. She would have no idea what to tell them, or what to do, for she was guilty and she knew it and she was scared and, _god_, she just felt horrible about this whole mess. What was she to tell her parents? Or her little brother? Or, her breath got caught in her throat as the thought hit her, what the hell was she supposed to tell _Belphegor_?

She had no idea if the man's shouting and her screams had caused any attention from people close by, she simply didn't pause to find out. She had ran (as fast as she could run with her still-bleeding wound anyway), leaving everything behind, the blood, and _the knife_. Both the man's and Bel's.

She hadn't wanted to die, that was all there was to it, but she certainly had not intended to kill the man either. No, the thought of killing someone had never even crossed her mind, not until... until it was too late.

None of this would've ever happened had she stuck to Levi like she was supposed to, and though she knew it was not entirely her own fault that the man had suddenly decided to run off someplace, going on with her chores instead of searching for the hitman had been entirely her own decision. It was, at least _partially_,her own fault for getting landed in that situation.

She had no one else to blame it on. But what the hell was she supposed to do now? What would she tell the others?

_What would she tell Bel?_ It was his knife that she had killed the man with, and while she didn't imagine Bel would care a lot if yet another murder was pinned on his shoulders, she was sure he already had plenty of enemies as it was, just as she had no doubt that the police, despite being bribed by the Vongola at the moment, would be perfectly happy with an extra piece of evidence to point against the Varia if the Vongola ever lost power.

The only thing on her mind, was finding a way back to the Varia castle. Now more than ever, she just wanted to see Belphegor.

But all the blood loss was making her dizzy, and black little spots were starting to cloud her vision... she knew that could not be good.

And sure enough, it wasn't long before everything went black.

* * *

><p>Tsuki blinked her eyes a couple of times, taking a moment to adjust to all of the light that had suddenly flooded inside her vision. Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned, her confusion showing on her pale face as she tried to pop herself up on her elbows and look around her. White walls, white sheets, white ceiling... everything around her seemed to be white.<p>

But _where was she? _Or how had she even gotten there for that matter? Something about her surroundings seemed oddly familiar, the brunette decided, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was. She felt rather light-headed actually and just... confused. She had been out because Lussuria had asked her to, and she could remember doing all that had been asked of her, but weirdly enough she couldn't remember leaving town... so what exactly-

Tsuki suddenly hissed in pain, her thoughts being interrupted as she sharply shut her eyes for a moment, carefully lying back down again and bringing her hand up to the reason of distress. It was her torso, the area of her abdomen to be more specific, and it was bandaged. There was a weird yellow sort of glow emitting from the bandages, and Tsuki wasn't sure what exactly it was, but it made her feel warm and it softened the pain somewhat, so she didn't mind it.

It was looking at the area of her wound that she suddenly remembered, the man, the alleyway and the _blood_. And it was also then that something inside her mind clicked, Tsuki's eyes slightly widening in realization. Of course, how could she forget, this place was-

'The prince sees you're finally awake, peasant.' The familiar voice made Tsuki's head snap up to her right, her eyes widening as she took notice of the person that was sitting in the chair next to her.

'_Bel...!_' The brunette breathed, as if unable to believe it. He looked rather tired, his usual grin absent and his clothes from that morning still unchanged and wrinkled, but he looked fine otherwise, a cup of coffee being held in his hands as he slowly drank it out. So many questions floated through her mind, and there were so many more things that she had to say, they just came out as some kind of an unintelligible jumble of words. 'W-what happened? I- oh god, Bel, I didn't mean to- I was panicked and- your knife, I- he just-'

'Calm down-'

'- an accident- it was, Levi- he- all I wanted-'

'Peasant-'

'I swear- I'm sorry. I didn't know- and your knife- oh god- I just, I didn't think- I- I-'

'_Tsuki!_' The sound of her name leaving the blonde hitman's lips halted the brunette, making her blink a couple of times as he pushed her back down onto the mattress none too gently. Tsuki winced, but she didn't pay it too much attention, more focused on the fact that he had actually called her with her name... for the first time ever since they met...

She hadn't noticed him getting up between her frantic attempts to apologize and explain at the same time, but she could see him now, tall and, oh yes, he did look tired... Tsuki felt bad, wondering for how long he had actually been sitting there, or what time it was. She couldn't tell, this part of the castle being underground, there were no windows. Just lights that were on 24/7. Bel observed his accidental wife for a minute longer before apparently deciding that she had calmed down for good and sliding back down in his chair again.

'Idiot.' He sighed. 'Try hearing people out before you start panicking.' He drank a bit more of his coffee, and though Tsuki could not see it, she could feel his blue eyes on her. 'The Varia's got it covered, Riccardi won't be found by anyone anytime soon.'

'… Riccardi?' Tsuki hesitated, turning her gaze to meet Belphegor's. She was met by his thick veil of blonde hair of course, but she had already been expecting that. Bel nodded.

'Romano Riccardi.' The brunette bit her lip, putting a name on that man... she didn't know why, but it made things worse. For a brief moment she felt like she was reliving those few horrible moments, his eyes (it had been getting too dark to properly distinguish their color), narrowed in hatred and determination, practically burning through her as he just tried to stab her, not caring about what happened to him. But she wanted to know, she _needed_ to know Bel's side of the story...

Either Bel didn't catch her shiver or he simply paid no attention to it. She had a feeling it was the latter, but before she could ponder over the matter too much he was talking again.

* * *

><p>'He was a drug dealer belonging to the ranks of the Todd famiglia. They aren't very strong, or very well known, so the Vongola doesn't usually make any negotiations with them.' Bel started, taking a moment to gather his thoughts and decide the right wording for the tale he had to tell. She had to know, because whether she wanted it or not she became a part of the mafia the moment they exchanged vows back in Venice, in front of the priest Bel had yanked out of his bed at three am to do the ceremony, all the while holding a knife against the older man's throat.<p>

Ever since then she had been his wife, and that meant that this exact kind of thing that happened that evening could and would happen again. She had still been innocent, not completely aware of how cruel and animalistic the mafia could be, how cruel and animalistic it could _make _a person, and Bel, fascinated by that innocence he usually liked to crush, had left her like that. But even her childlike innocence had an end, just like everything else had, and it was time for her to realize what she had _really _gotten herself into.

He had always seen it, the cruelty of the world, he had seen it long before killing his brother, in the eyes of his father when the man accused him of being the reason his wife was dead, because had there been only one child chances were that she would've survived, and now it was time for her to finally see it as well. She couldn't go on living in a false world. He hadn't cared enough to warn her in the first month or so of them knowing each other and later, unconsciously, he had wanted to keep that innocence she had intact, for she was something white in a pitch black world.

Not for the first time, Bel found himself wondering what the hell that woman had done to him.

* * *

><p>'Their boss, Paulo, came in one day, offering a rather generous amount for a hit on these two people he wanted out of the way.' He finally went on, causing Tsuki's attention to be snapped back to her husband. 'Apparently, Riccardi's performance had been dropping ever since he became a family man, rumors had it that he was even planning on quitting the mafia. And it is a well known fact that one in quite as deep as Riccardi cannot simply <em>quit <em>the mafia. Sawada of course refused the request, the years and that tutor of his may have turned him into a leader fit to be the Vongola Decimo, but he always was soft.' Bel's voice was serious, there was no trace of his usual grin on his lips and Tsuki couldn't help but hang from his every word, paying complete attention to Bel as he talked. 'Just like all of their dirty work, the case of Riccardi was sent over to the Varia, Paulo knew that with the reward offered he wouldn't be refused. Squalo seemed to think the prince had too much free time and forced him to take the mission. It was nothing but a coincidence.'

'So... so you killed Riccardi's... you killed his wife and daughter...?' Tsuki's voice was quiet, almost inaudible as she asked that, sure that that was what happened. But Bel wasn't done yet.

'Not quite. Paulo came to visit the prince after he learned of him having taken the mission. You see, the prince is quite well known, he's one of the best and he doesn't mind... _playing_ with his targets before killing them.'

Despite Bel's choice of words, Tsuki had no doubt that "playing" was in fact another word for _torturing_. She didn't like the sound of that, but she couldn't stop the thoughts that came and left her mind, and even though she wanted to deny it she knew that Belphegor was most likely perfectly capable of torturing someone until they begged for death. It made her sick to think so, but as she looked at her husband she knew that he already had several times, out of duty or for some messed up kind of satisfaction he might get from it.

Deep down inside her she had always known of that, or, at the very least, she had supposed. But as she looked at him now, when he was not being the pervert that found some kind of a sadistic joke in everything, she was certain that he had. Her husband, the man she loved, was much worse than simply a murderer. She had always turned a blind eye to that, and it made her feel horrible, the fact that she knew that no matter what, she would always continue to do so if it meant she could be with him.

'He had a favor to ask concerning the mission. He knew that the others, except probably Mammon if he had payed her extra, would have most likely refused him. The money he offered was so much because what he wanted was not a simple hit, Paulo wanted to show Riccardi he could not leave, and the consequences that even considering it had caused him. All the prince had to do was trap Riccardi with his wires before he went on with his mission as normal.'

'He... he had to watch while you-' Bel nodded solemnly and once again Tsuki felt like she would throw up. That was simply barbaric- that was-

'How things are in the mafia.' The brunette blinked, quickly turning her gaze towards Bel again. 'You should get used to it, since it's the world you will be living in from now on.' The blonde hitman left it at that, putting his cup of coffee on the nightstand next to her and getting up, taking a moment to stretch before he turned to Tsuki again. 'The prince is guessing you're pretty hungry...? I'm going to get Lussuria.'

And with that Bel was gone, leaving Tsuki alone in the Varia's infirmary.

* * *

><p>It was about thirty minutes later that the door was finally opened again, revealing not her husband, as she would've hoped, but the Varia's self-proclaimed mother instead.<p>

Lussuria was colorful... as usual, wearing what looked like a pink frilly apron and carrying a bowl filled with what Tsuki could only suppose was food. It smelled great, and having the bowl of what looked like it was soup next to her made her realize just how hungry she was.

'Ah, you're finally awake! It's such a relief Tsuki-chan, you had us really worried for a while back then!' The man said, smiling cheerfully as he helped the brunette sit up in her bed, fluffing her pillows and setting them straight so that she would be comfortable. Despite Lussuria having spoken in plural, Tsuki doubted whether he was actually talking about anyone else other than himself. She couldn't really imagine Squalo caring much about the fact she got herself landed in the infirmary after all, he was most likely complaining about the extra paperwork that got him landed with instead. 'I'm sorry for making you wait this long, dear. I was busy dealing with Levi you see.' Lussuria shook his head and heaved a sigh.

'Levi...?' Tsuki questioned as she accepted the spoon the Varia's sun guardian was holding out for her to take. She murmured a small thanks before starting to eat.

So they _had_ found him... but why would Levi be in need of Lussuria's assistance? Last time she checked, the man wasn't all too fond on his teammate's company...

'Oh yes... Bel went completely crazy when he heard Levi had lost you, we went to look for you and when Fran-chan showed up with you covered in blood and unconscious, he completely snapped, it took us a while to get Bel off Levi. He's not in the best state he's ever been... I can tell you that...' The man seemed to be lost in thought for a few moments as Tsuki continued to eat her food, her attention only half-focused on Lussuria. So that was what had happened... despite being aware that she shouldn't be happy about Levi being in such a state, she couldn't help but have her lips turn slightly upwards at the fact that Bel cared for her enough to do something like that. Though honestly, she'd rather no one got hurt. 'I don't think I've ever seen Bel-chan be so concerned over anyone, he refused to leave the infirmary until you woke up, you know. He's never done that for anyone else. And I had to force him to sit down and eat something in the kitchen just now...' Lussuria smiled slightly. 'Who would ever have thought it, that someone could ever make the ripper prince fall in love?'

_Love_? Tsuki seriously doubted-

'Oh, but he isn't aware of it yet of course... or actually, he just doesn't want to acknowledge it, he's never loved anyone before you see. Ah...' The man sighed. 'I feel like a mother whose child has just grown up...'

Tsuki decided to quickly change the topic of conversation before Lussuria managed to get onto the subject of when the couple would finally have a baby once more. He seemed to have gotten it in his mind that he wanted to have a child to pamper and play with, and apparently because they were so conveniently there (and _in love_, as the man supported) they should make a family already.

She wasn't exactly sure of how long they talked (or even _about what _they talked), but at some point, sleep overtook her and after all the exhaustion and shock of the day, Tsuki welcomed it.

* * *

><p><em>She was in that alleyway again, walking in fast firm strides. She didn't like how the overhead streetlamp kept flickering on and off, it was cold too and as she walked, holding onto a couple of bags, Tsuki wondered whether she should have taken a bus home.<em>

_For whatever the reason the brunette didn't do so, even as she passed right by a bus stop, her mind unconsciously nagging her, how on Earth could it be possible for there to be a bus stop right in the middle of a dirty alleyway? She ignored it though, walking on down the cobbled streets and going further and further into the darkness._

_It wasn't as crowded around there, Tsuki noticed as she walked on, only a few rather suspicious-looking people leaning against the walls on her left and right, smoking, drinking beer and laughing rather loudly. She decided to ignore them in favor of getting back home. She had the feeling someone would be waiting for her there, but right now, for some reason, she couldn't think of _who.

_'Hey there.' The voice halted her, and Tsuki's eyes widened in surprise for a moment as a man suddenly appeared in front of her. He had a lecherous grin on his lips and as she quickly glanced at the three men standing behind the first, her eyes flashed in recognition._

_'You...!' She breathed. Yes, she had met them before... what were their names? She couldn't remember, it had seemed so long ago. But... they couldn't possibly be there. Bel- Bel had-_

_Everything had gone silent and the others seemed to have disappeared, leaving only the four men she had once upon a time stumbled across in Sienna in front of her._

_'Ah, so you remember us, do you?' The one in the middle, the one that had seemed to be their boss back then as well, asked. He took a step forward and Tsuki quickly backed away, her eyes wide and focused on the men._

_Yes, she did remember them. And she remembered their boss as well, Bel had spared him for last, but she never quite knew what exactly her husband did to him. She hadn't been able to bear watching, only the sounds that she could hear, his screams and pleas for mercy, had been more than enough._

_And suddenly they weren't the same any more. Blood appeared on them and she could distinguish several of Bel's knives, the weapons that had been the death of them, sticking out from their clothing, the places where they had been stabbed. The man in the middle was by far the worst, he was completely soaked in blood and he had three knives stuck in his shoulder, he was dragging his leg too._

_The two men at the sides dropped to the ground, shortly followed by the third, lifeless, much like they had on the night that Bel had saved her, and killed them. The one in the middle though, _Roberto, that was his name_, stumbled and fell on the ground, spluttering and coughing up blood, looking like he was choking._

_Tsuki backed away some more, her eyes wide in horror as Bel's words echoed in her mind, making bile rise to her throat and tears cloud her vision._

'Now, what shall the prince do with you, peasant?'_ Bel had asked, looking unnervingly calm for someone that had just murdered three men in a heartbeat. He was smiling too. _'Ushishi. Shall he turn you into a cactus? Or shall he cut your tongue out first...?'

_He- he hadn't done that, right? That had been- it had been just a threat... or was it- Tsuki didn't want to know. She didn't want to watch any longer, she didn't know what the truth was anymore. She just wanted to get away._

_So she turned around, and she ran. Or she would've, had she not been blocked by a fifth man blocking her path. Her breath got caught up in her throat, her eyes wide and gazing up at the taller figure fearfully. She knew him too._

_'They didn't do anything wrong.' He said, and she could spot a knife in his hand. Tsuki backed off only to remember the other man was still behind her, choking on his own blood and screaming now. She was trapped between the two men. 'My wife and daughter didn't deserve to die. It was all Prince The Ripper's fault! I've got every right to kill you!'_

_He raised the knife and Tsuki braced herself, closing her eyes tightly and waiting for the pain. But it never came._

_All she heard was the clatter of the man's knife hitting the ground, and when she dared look up, she couldn't keep the sob from escaping. He was covered in blood as well, swaying now, but his eyes, filled with hatred for her and Bel, were boring into her skull. Saying _"you killed me" _over and over again, even without the use of words._

_'You're a monster. A murderer. No better than your husband.'_

Tsuki gasped, her eyes flying open as she shot up, her breathing fast and panicked as she frantically looked around her, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She was still in the Varia's infirmary, the brunette soon realized, the lights having been turned out long ago. There was still light from the hall, and as it came in, lighting the room only partially, it made it look terrifying. There were shadows everywhere and as she watched them for a moment, big and scary and unable to identify from what exactly some of them came, she wished she were home again.

When she was younger and still lived in her parents' house back in Namimori, her mother had always been there when she had a nightmare, she knew she could go to her in the middle of the night. She had thought she'd grown out of that... but this dream... she wanted the comfort of someone. Anyone. She didn't care who.

Tsuki looked around her once more, but she saw no one. Neither a ghost of her past, nor someone that could offer her any comfort. Despite there being several other beds, she was alone in the room, and she didn't want to be alone. Not now.

Ignoring the pain it caused her, Tsuki pushed the covers off her and got out of the bed. She wasn't exactly sure of where she would go, she just wanted to get away from that room. Lussuria probably wouldn't approve... but the brunette didn't care.

The lights outside the room she'd been in were lit, and upstairs the moonlight that shone through the windows was more than enough to help her find her way around the big castle. The Varia headquarters, Tsuki realized in wonder, was a very quiet place at night, when all of its crazy members were peacefully asleep. Never before had she known the castle to be as quiet... there was no shouting, no gunshots, no arguments... nothing.

She found herself standing in front of a familiar door pretty soon, her hand hovering above the doorknob and yet hesitating to make that one small move that would allow her inside the room she wanted to enter. She bit her lip, and withdrew her hand, only to have the door opened by someone else instead.

'What are you doing here?' The blonde prince's voice was sleepy, but even in that state, Bel managed to sound sharp and to the point. Tsuki realized he hadn't "ushishi"ed at all that day, and she couldn't help but be curious, so this was what Belphegor was like when he was being serious? 'You're supposed to be in the infirmary peasant, resting.'

'I- well...' Tsuki trailed off, not knowing what to tell the assassin now that she had actually found him. She bit her lip and glancing down at her for a moment longer, Bel sighed.

'You can't sleep.' It wasn't even a question, it was a statement, and he was sure of the words' accuracy. She nodded. 'Because you're thinking about Riccardi.'

'Kinda, I...' Tsuki hesitated, she knew that most likely her worries would seem stupid to someone like Belphegor, a man who killed on almost a daily basis and enjoyed it on top of that. But she just needed someone to talk to right now, as silly as her fears might seem to that person. 'I had a nightmare...'

She had braced herself for Belphegor's hissing laugh, his trademark snigger, maybe some kind of a jeer as well, but it never came.

'Thought so.' Was the only thing that left the hitman's mouth. Tsuki's head snapped up, her eyes wide and teary. 'Don't just stand there, you'll catch a cold. It's the last thing you need while you're still recovering from that wound.'

Grabbing hold of her hand, he pulled her inside his room, and after a few moments of navigating through all of the junk thrown everywhere, the couple reached the bed. Tsuki was pushed down on it and a blanket was thrown over her. It was still warm, so Tsuki knew that Bel had previously been lying there. Taking a moment to climb onto the bed himself, the assassin turned back to his wife.

'It's only normal, what you're going through. The first kill is never easy for anyone.' His hair was ruffled from sleep, and as Bel looked down at Tsuki she caught sight of his eyes. They were solemn and she knew the self-proclaimed prince was not lying, she could see it in those pools of blue, that even for him, who considered the murder of his brother and family his greatest achievement, the aftermath had been hard to deal with, and for a long time, his actions had haunted him. Even if he did not regret them. 'But you've got nothing to feel guilty for. It's not your fault because what you did was merely defend yourself, had you not gotten him first, Riccardi would've killed you. No one can blame you for wanting to save your own life, you had every right to defend yourself.'

A hand reached out to wipe away her tears. Bel crept closer to her and he held her chin, positioning it in such a way that she could only look at his face, his eyes.

'You listen to me, what you did was just a human's basic need for survival. It's nothing like what I or anyone else in the Varia does. You didn't kill that man because you were offered money, or because he was a hindrance you'd rather not deal with. You killed him because you had to. It's not your fault. And you're not evil or... a monster for doing what you did today. It's not you fault, and nobody blames you for it.'

Tsuki flung herself at Bel, all of her self-control thrown out of the window as she sobbed into his nightshirt, clutching the fabric tightly as if it were a lifeline. She held onto her husband tightly, never wanting to let go again and just stay like that forever. How was it he knew exactly the words she needed to hear, the things he needed to say to make her feel better?

That night, Tsuki cried herself to sleep, snuggling into Belphegor's warmth and seeking the comfort and safety only he could give. She had no more nightmares that night, and as she slept, her hands still holding onto Bel's shirt tightly, a small smile formed on her lips.


	23. An unpleasant surprise

'Bel...?' Tsuki hesitantly questioned as she allowed herself to be pulled down the Varia's large hallways, not completely sure of where they were going. The blond prince didn't answer, he just went on holding onto her hand as he walked on, urging her to follow.

It was nine in the morning and Tsuki had no idea why her husband had suddenly decided to burst into the kitchen halfway through breakfast and demand she follow him, interrupting her discussion with Lussuria about romantic novels as he did so. Usually, Bel wouldn't even be up at an hour such as nine in the morning, let alone dragging confused people around the castle, Tsuki didn't know why that would be any different today.

The man in front of her though, didn't seem to be in a hurry to give any light to her unanswered questions as he just walked on, their surroundings becoming more and more unfamiliar to the brunette the further they got.

Truth was, the Varia castle was a confusing place to be in when you didn't know your way around it. It had taken Tsuki almost a whole month to get used to the layout of the parts where she usually spent the day (namely, the route from her bedroom, to the kitchen, the living room, bathroom and back). All of the hallways looked so much alike, and it didn't help that there were no sort of indications to help one find their way around the place.

Getting to parts of the Varia headquarters she had never explored before, was always a challenge to Tsuki, just like the time Lussuria had asked her to bring a bowl of soup for Squalo to the infirmary. She hadn't known where that was back then, and ended up making circles around the second floor, finally ending up in Levi's bedroom by accident. The man had been watching porn online and it was truly unfortunate that Tsuki had to step in at that exact same moment to ask for directions.

Even now, there were so many parts of the castle Tsuki had never been to that it wasn't such an uncommon event to one moment be walking down a hallway she knew and the next be completely and utterly lost.

The hall they were walking down right now, was one of those cases.

It came to the point where she couldn't recognize anything, and for a moment she even thought they might have been walking in circles (since they'd passed the same portrait thrice already) but that didn't seem to be the case, for just before she was going to risk it and point the fact out to Bel, they suddenly came to a stop in front of two big iron doors Tsuki was sure she'd never seen before.

'Many parts of the castle have been constructed in a way that they'd confuse potential infiltrators. Ushishi~' Bel spoke up as if having read her mind. 'They could be stuck here for ages, thinking they've been making circles but just wandering off to a completely different direction than what they'd wanted. The headquarters is like a maze, only the people that live here permanently know their way around without getting lost.'

Tsuki turned to look at the prince-turned-assassin, but found he was not looking at her, focusing on punching the correct code in the box next to the iron doors instead.

After that night that Bel had let her sleep with him, the prince seemed to have gone back to his usual behavior, poking fun at and annoying people being two of his personal favorite pastimes, just as it had always been. He would be a shameless pervert and a flirt and force her to make him pancakes at the weirdest times of the day (and sometimes night) just because he felt like it, but he never mentioned Riccardi or anything about that night again, and Tsuki was thankful for that.

She hoped that if she tried not to think of it, it might hurt less... and maybe, maybe she could forget...

'Don't just stand there, peasant. Come on.'

Tsuki nodded and followed Bel down another hall which had many iron doors similar to the one they'd just passed through, her husband didn't pay them any attention though, seeming to know where he was going. Tsuki just followed his lead and quickened her pace so that she would not fall behind.

'Bel...? What is this place?' She finally managed to ask, but before the self-proclaimed prince could actually offer an answer to her question, a loud exclamation of "VOOOOOOOIIIIIIII" interrupted him. Tsuki glanced around her, her eyes wide, she knew who that yell belonged to of course (who wouldn't?), but she failed to spot Squalo anywhere. She could still hear his voice though... quite clearly too...

'YOU IDIOTS! IN A REAL FIGHT YOU'D BE DEAD! VOOOII! YOU'LL NEVER REACH VARIA QUALITY LIKE THAT!'

'Ushishi~ looks like Squalo's training the new recruits again...' Bel sniggered, and Tsuki had difficulty hearing what he was saying over all of Squalo's earsplitting screams. He sounded like he was standing right next to them, shouting into a megaphone... yet, as far as Tsuki could tell, he wasn't in the same hallway as they were... maybe in one of the rooms behind one of those thick-looking iron doors?

Christ, that guy could _scream_.

'New recruits?' Tsuki wasn't even sure she wanted to know.

'The big boss likes to send them over occasionally, since we've only got thirty-two members at the moment, the Varia's commanders included. They're usually completely incompetent though, so we need to whip them into shape.'

'Ah, I-I see...'

'The prince is to take over after Squalo...' Bel said and Tsuki wondered if that was the reason he was up so early, it certainly seemed like it... but why was she dragged along with him...? Tsuki momentarily froze as a thought hit her. _S-surely he wasn't planning to- no, no way, she was no Varia material. But then why- why would he-_ 'The castle is more than secure, but you can't stay inside for the rest of your life, and if you go outside there's always the possibility of what happened with Riccardi happening again, so the prince thought you should get some basic knowledge about how to defend yourself.' The brunette watched Bel as he talked, and though what he said sounded perfectly logical... she couldn't help but be apprehensive. She wasn't sure how good for her health, or sanity, learning how to fight with _Bel_ would be. 'And since it's a weapon that's been appearing more and more as of lately, you should know one or two things about flames, rings and boxes. Which is exactly what the prince is supposed to be teaching the new recruits as well today.'

Tsuki had no idea what Bel was talking about even though she remembered those words being said before, not only by her husband, but the other members of the Varia, even some of her old classmates as well. She decided not to ask though, supposing he'd explain later.

Coming to a stop in front of another iron door (it looked exactly the same as any of the doors in that hallway to Tsuki, though it didn't seem like Bel had chosen to stop there at random), the prince typed in another code. The light turned green, and with a little _beep_, the door opened.

'Ushishi~ the prince has arrived.'

The five men that had already been in the room immediately stopped moving, their eyes on the couple that had just entered. They quickly hurried to form a line and Tsuki recognized one or two of them as the men that had once come to her to ask her for help when Bel had been in a particularly bad mood because of all the paperwork Squalo had left him.

So that was Belphegor's storm squad that Tsuki had heard about...? Didn't they need a bit more than five people to be a squad...?

'There used to be more of them.' Bel grinned. 'But none of them were worthy of being under the prince's command. Ushishi~ only one of those guys used to be on the original storm squad actually, all the rest died.' Tsuki gulped, and the five men on Bel's squad didn't seem all too comfortable with the glee that could be distinguished in Bel's voice as he talked either. 'The prince remembers the first time Squalo assigned him a squad, he was eight. But the peasants wouldn't believe he was their commander and made fun of him, needless to say, they paid for their rudeness.'

The guy standing in the middle, a man that seemed to be in his thirties and was definitely the oldest of the group, seemed to suddenly become very pale, and Tsuki guessed that that was the man that had witnessed what Belphegor was talking about. The brunette felt sorry for him, she knew she wouldn't want to have Bel as her superior, being married to him was quite enough, thank you.

Luckily, Bel didn't share any more things about his squad, because honestly, Tsuki didn't think she'd be able to handle it. He busied himself with getting ready for whatever it was he'd have to do later instead, taking out a few colored little boxes and some rings. The brunette wasn't sure about what she was supposed to do, so she just stood aside awkwardly, watching Belphegor go on doing whatever it was he did.

It wasn't long until another loud cry of "VOOOIIII!" alerted them of Squalo having arrived, the people who Tsuki guessed were the new recruits following him, giving their surroundings uncertain looks as they came inside. All of them were wearing the Varia uniform, but they looked anything but eager to be part of the Vongola's independent (and elite) assassination squad. Or maybe they were just exhausted from whatever spartan training Squalo had made them go through, she'd never trained with Squalo (thank god!) but Tsuki would guess that it was nothing enjoyable.

'I'm done with these bastards! I swear they keep getting more useless by the year! VOOI!' With that, the Varia's swordsman turned around and stomped off, grumbling something about lost time and killing Xanxus for making him train idiots.

The trainees looked around for a bit longer, first taking in the room, then the five men that were Bel's storm squad and lastly, Tsuki. She must've looked very out of place there, being the only one not dressed in any kind of a uniform and just looking... plain. Many of the recruits raised a curious eyebrow at her. She squirmed under their gaze, not feeling at all comfortable with the unwanted attention she was getting.

'Ushishi~' Bel's weird laughter thankfully averted their attention, and as their eyes fell on the grinning blonde, then the tiara that rested on top of his golden locks, many of them seemed to go stiff with recognition. She supposed that they had heard of Bel, or, most likely, they had heard of "Prince The Ripper", the Varia's battle genius that came from a royal bloodline. The brunette couldn't really say she blamed them for being scared. 'Squalo was right,' he grinned 'you peasants don't look like much.'

A few of the recruits seemed confused at being addressed as peasants (this was the 21st century after all), while others still looked scared stiff, two or three even had the guts to look offended, but none of them dared say anything. Tsuki wouldn't have had either, for the crazy grin that was currently on her husband's lips was truly rather disturbing. She got the feeling he got some twisted kind of satisfaction out of terrifying new recruits.

'What are you waiting for? Form a line, peasants.' It was an order, and none of the recruits were stupid enough not to obey it. 'Not you, ushishi, you stay back there.' He nodded towards Tsuki, who hadn't been sure whether or not she should follow her husband's command or whether it was only meant for the recruits.

Tsuki nodded and happily stayed in the background.

Bel spent a few more minutes just terrorizing the men Squalo had brought in, grinning broadly and just inspecting the group in front of him. No one did anything though, and, looking quite disappointed (though no one that hadn't known Bel for a while would've been able to tell), the blonde walked away from the new recruits and towards the table on which all the colorful boxes and rings had been laid out earlier.

He slammed his palms down on the piece of furniture for good measure, just to make sure everyone was listening, before starting to talk.

'Since you were with Squalo before, the prince is going to assume all of you here passed his basic combat abilities test, correct?' There were a few nods, accompanied by a couple of "yes"s. Tsuki didn't even have the time to see it, the only thing she knew was that suddenly, Bel had pulled out a couple of his knives and thrown them at the recruits. '_I said_, correct?' This time they all answered, and Bel seemed satisfied enough for he went on.

'The prince will explain only once, so you better listen if you want to survive around here.'

* * *

><p>Tsuki sat back as all the recruits left the room, walking as fast as it was possible without making it seem like they were running. It was rather obvious to the brunette that they wanted to get away from Belphegor, but the prince didn't seem to mind too much, he just stood back, leaning against the table and grinning his trademark grin as he watched everyone leave. He, unlike Squalo, didn't bother to help them get to Lussuria (whom he had informed them would be taking over from where he left off), preferring to just leave the group to fend for itself.<p>

'Ushishi~' Tsuki looked up, pulled out of her thoughts as her eyes fell her husband. 'Come on, peasant.'

'Huh?'

'What? You didn't think that was all, did you? The prince got the other peasants to help get you into shape a bit as well.'

Needless to say, the next few weeks were hell on Earth.

* * *

><p>'SIX! SEVEN! EIGH- VOOOOOOOIIIII! YOU CALL THOSE PUSH-UPS, WOMAN?!' Squalo screamed out at the top of his lungs, glaring at Tsuki as she collapsed on the ground, officially having given up. He didn't seem to mind, or even realize, that every inch of her body hurt from the spartan training she had been made to go through for the past two weeks. Tsuki was exhausted, it was almost ten PM and she was hungry, sweaty and in pain. And still, her silver-haired devil of a trainer wouldn't let her catch a break before she was done with his mandatory list of exercises.<p>

In the past two weeks she had been made to dodge huge onslaughts of knives, she had almost been strangled to death by toilet paper (and robbed afterwards), made to run ten circles around the castle without a single break, as well as find which the real pineapple was out of eighty identical ones (that actually wasn't that bad, well, at least until she picked the wrong one and they all started "kufufu"ing), they had even attempted to teach her some martial arts.

Needless to say, each and every one of these had ended up in failure.

It seemed like from the moment she got up in the morning, till the moment she went to bed at night, she was doing some sort of inhuman training with one of the Varia members. All she wanted now, was a break. Simply a break, and she'd gladly go back to cooking meals for the Varia hitmen, no matter how picky, weird or annoying they were, even cleaning the hallways and the countless rooms inside the castle sounded great. Anything but this...

'GET UP! YOU'VE STILL GOT NINETY-TWO TO GO!' Squalo hollered as he stomped over to the brunette. He grabbed her arm and yanked her up, but Tsuki only let herself fall back down to the ground again once he let go. 'VOOOOIII! GET A GRIP DAMN IT! EVEN MY GRANDMA CAN DO MORE PUSHUPS THAN YOU!'

Had Tsuki not been so exhausted and out of energy, she'd have given the swordsman a disbelieving look, but she couldn't muster the strength to do even that. Right now, even the floor would seem like a wonderful place to sleep. It was cold, and anything but comfortable, but for some reason, Tsuki couldn't bring herself to care.

From somewhere to her right, she could hear Squalo sigh.

'Fine.' He grumbled. 'Take a break. It's late and I've still got a mission report to hand in to the boss, better do it before he gets too intoxicated.' He grimaced at the idea, but then turned to Tsuki, his tone of voice getting louder once again. 'Vooii! And you're doing the pushups you didn't do today tomorrow, woman! Don't think I'll ever let you off that easily again!'

Tsuki couldn't help but groan to herself as she thought of having to do _192 _pushups, especially when she couldn't manage even ten... who was he kidding? Even three were a challenge. All this spartan training would one day be the death of her... Tsuki had no doubt about it.

But... training was done for today... she might as well get up and leave this place before Squalo changed his mind and forced her to do the remaining pushups today.

Sighing, the brunette pushed herself up, ignoring her muscles that all protested against the action, and leaving the training room as fast as she could manage. She passed by her room to grab a change of clothes and a towel before heading to the bathroom and taking a long relaxing shower.

It was only when the water finally became cold after an indefinite amount of time, that Tsuki got out, quickly drying herself and getting dressed.

Time to eat something before going to sleep.

'That hurts, senpai... didn't your parents teach you any manners? You can't just stab people... you need a healthier hobby.'

'Shishishi.' Tsuki could hear the now familiar sound of knives getting stabbed into Fran's frog hat even before she reached the kitchen. 'Shut up, frog.'

'I guess not... makes sense, if they'd done a good job at raising you, you wouldn't have killed them and then you'd be there now, annoying the people of your fake country like the fake prince you are.' _Stab. Stab. Stab. _'Ah... you're so violent...'

'The prince isn't fake, you damn frog. Get it in your head.'

'My, my~ don't argue you two...' Lussuria's voice suddenly interrupted Bel and Fran before they could start a fight over the dinner table and ruin whatever meal it was he'd put so much effort in preparing that evening. Some kind of a cake, Tsuki noticed as she entered the kitchen as well.

It would seem like the others had already eaten and were now all having a late desert, Tsuki couldn't blame them though, it _was_ almost eleven.

'Oh! Tsuki-chan...! I was wondering when you'd come, you must be starving. I already prepared your dinner for you, just let me reheat it...' With that, the Varia's sun guardian quickly left the dining room, leaving her alone with the other hitmen that were sitting in the room.

Bel and Fran were sitting next to each other, still bickering about whether the former was in truth a real prince or whether (as Fran supported) he was just a schizophrenic maniac who was under the impression that he was a prince and had escaped from a mental hospital by killing everyone that tried to stop him. Then, because he was so disturbed in his mind, he believed that the people he had murdered were in fact his fake royal family. Needless to say, his speculation of Bel's past, had gotten Fran another six or seven knives to his frog hat, which now rather looked like a weird kind of hedgehog, Tsuki realized in wonder.

Across from them, Mammon was sitting, calmly drinking some strawberry milk as she watched her comrades fight. She didn't make any move to stop it or take a side, Tsuki supposed that as long as they broke nothing valuable, the arcobaleno didn't mind their fight, even if it was getting a bit needlessly violent.

Carefully, Tsuki made her way towards the empty seat next to Belphegor, sitting down and just waiting for Lussuria to get back with her food.

'Ushishi~ the prince and the peasants are going to watch a movie later.' Bel suddenly said, turning to his wife. 'Want to watch too? It's about this crazy mass murderer that likes to decapitate his victims with a drill.'

'Erm... I'm rather tired...' Tsuki carefully said as Lussuria returned, carrying a plate of (surprise, surprise) steak that had been left over from dinner. 'I think I'll pass.'

Before either of them could say anything more, the door was burst open again, and with a loud exclamation of "VOOOOIIII!", the Varia's second-in-command stomped inside, his hair covered in what looked suspiciously like red wine. He seemed to be in a pretty bad mood as he stomped over to his usual seat at the table, pulling the chair back and sitting down in it, so they all preferred not to ask what had happened. They already had a pretty good idea anyway.

'One day I'm going to kill that bastard!' He growled, grabbing one of the forks Lussuria had set on the table before and viciously stabbing the piece of cake the man had quickly placed in front of him just a few moments ago. Lussuria gasped, seeming mortified as he watched his precious cake, which he had spent so long making, being mutilated by Squalo's brute force. Bel simply sniggered, and Fran muttered something about the Varia being filled with manner-less neanderthals, and how he should've stayed with his "pineapple-haired master" after all.

Tsuki just preferred to concentrate on her steak, tuning out the swordsman's loud complains about his boss and the wine glasses that got thrown at his head on a daily basis. Apparently, the man hadn't been successful in getting that mission report to Xanxus before he was too intoxicated... then again, when was Xanxus _not_ intoxicated? Every time Tsuki saw him, he was drinking another sort of alcoholic beverage.

Meanwhile, Bel and Fran's argument about Bel's royalty had began once again, and now Fran was saying something about the blonde needing to be confined in a straightjacket because he was a danger to those around him, particularly Fran, who was always at the receiving end of his "weird-shaped knives".

Bel responded to this by stabbing even more knives in the teal-haired illusionist's arm (he'd started moving down, since there were already too many stuck in the boy's frog hat).

'I am a real prince, you stupid peasant!'

'Then name even one person that believes so senpai.'

'She does!' The brunette blinked as Bel pointed at her, sounding completely confident of his belief that she believed he was a prince. 'The prince's wife knows the prince is a real prince, right?'

'Eh?' Tsuki opened and closed her mouth a few times as she glanced up at the two assassins looking at her, the one apathetically and the other... well, Tsuki couldn't actually see Bel's eyes, but he looked pretty pissed, even if it was not directed at her. And she wasn't really sure what she was supposed to say anyway... Even _she _didn't know if she actually believed that Belphegor was actually a prince. But if she lied... they'd surely realize...

'Tell him!' Belphegor demanded, sounding rather like a five-year-old child throwing a tantrum. He pointed at Fran. 'Tell him I'm a real prince, Tsuki!'

'Erm...'

Tsuki was saved from answering when a man she recognized as one of the new recruits hesitantly opened the door.

'E-excuse me...' The poor guy seemed very uncomfortable under the combined gazes of five of the Varia's core members. 'T-there's someone here that wishes to talk to you...'

'Voooiii! Who could it be at this hour?!' Squalo shouted out, slamming his fork down on the table and making the boy (for really, he looked so young that Tsuki wondered if he was even of age) by the door flinch. 'I swear, if that Cavallone bastard decided to go on a road trip on his own and got lost again-'

A man stepped out from behind the boy, thanking him for taking him until there, adding that it was fine for him to go now. The boy, who if Tsuki remembered correctly had been assigned to Lussuria's squad just recently, lost no time and practically ran off.

Tsuki looked at the man carefully for a moment, he was in his mid to late thirties, she supposed. His hair was light brown, reaching his chin and his eyes were a grayish-blue sort of color. The clothes he was wearing reminded her rather of the angel Castiel from Supernatural, trench coat and all. Though Misha Collins was undeniably more handsome than this guy could ever hope to be...

Whoever the guy by the door was, he apparently was not the "Cavallone bastard" Squalo had been talking about, for the next moment, the silver-haired swordsman rudely asked-

'Who the hell are you?'

'Ah, how rude of me, my name is Emilio Macchione.' The man reached for something inside his pockets, and a few moments later he took a card out and slid it over to Squalo. 'I am a detective, and I couldn't help but be interested in the murder of Romano Riccardi. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?'


	24. The power of the Varia

Tsuki shifted uncomfortably, her eyes uncertain as she sat in the soft velvet sofa inside one of the Varia's luxurious living rooms, her hands folded in her lap, tightly holding onto the cup of tea that had been given to her by Lussuria before he left the room a few moments ago. Her knuckles were white, trembling so lightly that it was barely noticeable. But it was still there.

She simply stared at the coffee table in front of her blankly, her eyes not really seeing as she tried her best to just be calm... or at least _look the part_. Just breathe in and out. In and out. _Just breathe, _she told herself. Because it was going to be fine... it had to be. The Varia were just behind the door, nothing could happen, could it?

Even if she was alone in a room with a detective.

A detective that happened to be investigating the death of the very man she had killed.

_Yeah, sure _a traitorous little voice within her head said _everything will go peachy_. Sarcasm. Right now, Tsuki did not like it. Not at all.

Macchione cleared his throat, and the brunette forced herself to look up.

The man had made himself comfortable in the sofa opposite of hers and he was now looking at Tsuki, his expression, unlike hers, not betraying his emotions.

"Right... now that we are alone we can get started."

When the man had admitted to being a detective back in the dining room, it had taken Tsuki a few moments to process those words and pull out their meaning. And truly, the moment her mind really caught up to it, she had full out expected the Varia to just fuck all logic and reason and jump at Macchione aiming for the kill. The fact that they hadn't, instead of relieving her because no one had been brutally murdered (**yet**), only set her more on edge.

Up until then she had always been certain that the Varia didn't do quiet, calm or any possible variation or synonym of those words... they just didn't. And yet they proved to be perfectly capable of it as the seconds had ticked by, the awkward silence just hanging over all of their heads. And it had terrified Tsuki.

Because Lussuria hadn't been squealing, or giggling or fantasizing about little 'nieces and nephews' to coo over.

Because Squalo hadn't been screaming his lungs out, complaining about paperwork, crazy princes and lazy bosses or swinging his sword around with enough force to cut through a wall.

Because Mammon hadn't been counting money, and Fran hadn't been making snarky comments just for the sole purpose of pissing Bel off.

Because Bel hadn't been grinning. And not once in the months Tsuki had known the blonde prince had that been a good sign.

The Varia's top hitmen had looked just like predators, ready to pounce at their prey and tear it apart limb from limb. Bit from bit. Their eyes had been cold, calculating, even Lussuria had no longer been smiling. They were assassins, and never before had that been more evident to Tsuki.

And then Macchione had announced his desire to talk to Tsuki, in _private_.

Bel had jumped up instantly, an angry growl escaping his throat. The brunette had no idea exactly when or how he managed it, but the ripper prince was suddenly behind the detective, a knife in his hand... only to be held back by Lussuria and Squalo as Macchione backed away quickly, his eyes wide.

Tsuki wasn't sure what had happened then. Squalo had been shouting at Bel, Lussuria trying to calm him down, both saying something about "Vongola", "omerta" and the police. Tsuki didn't get it, but Bel had seemed to for he eventually pulled himself together and calmed down. None of them failed to notice the daggers Belphegor still kept glaring at Macchione though, nor did they miss the way he kept his hand suspiciously close to his pocket, where Tsuki knew he kept a number of his custom-made knives.

At this very moment, Belphegor and possibly the rest of the Varia were standing just outside the door. It was a somewhat comforting thought... though she'd much rather have had Bel there with her.

"As I already mentioned a while ago, I am here to look into the murder of Romano Riccardi, has been missing for almost three weeks but he was recently confirmed dead by a certain, ah, _source_..." He paused for a moment in order to observe Tsuki, but whether or not he got the reaction he'd wanted and/or expected, the brunette wasn't sure. "I have reasons to believe that you have got something to do with the case of Riccardi."

Tsuki simply remained silent, the colorful designs on her teacup suddenly becoming much more interesting as she looked at them. The tea was cold already. Machione sighed.

"Look, it will make this much easier for the both of us if you just come out and say what you know now..."

"..."

"I see. Well then, can you tell me where you were on the 7th of this month... at about, two, three o'clock?"

"Downtown..." Tsuki bit her lip, wondering how much of it was okay to tell. Bel had had the time to briefly whisper 'don't say more than necessary' in her ear as she passed him by in the hall... but how much exactly was necessary? "I- I was shopping. Groceries... and stuff."

"And do you have someone that that can confirm this, Tsukiko?" She didn't quite like the use of her first name, not when he said it. Tsuki frowned, absently letting her fingers ghost over her teacup's designs again as she quickly wet her lips before answering.

"I was with... Levi-san..."

"_Levisan_?"

"Um, Leviathan... he-"

"Wait, the Varia's Leviathan?" Tsuki nodded and the detective hummed. "Is that so...?" He murmured, more to himself rather than her as he wrote something in this notepad he'd taken out before he started talking to her. "I'll have to see if I can talk to him. Ah, I didn't see him though, is he...?"

"Er, yes... he, um, had an... accident. He's in the hospital wing." Macchione raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

"An accident?"

Tsuki nodded, but she didn't elaborate. What was she supposed to say anyway? That her husband had nearly skinned him alive for leaving her unsupervised?

"Right. Would you mind just telling me what you did that day? From when you woke up."

"Uh, I- I woke up and went downstairs, had breakfast as usual and... Lussuria asked me if I could do some chores for him. So I did, and Levi-san came along. We just bought meat, went to wash some clothes... bought groceries, wine. We- um- we then came back here again."

Macchionne observed her for a moment longer, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Nothing else...? At all?"

"I don't... think so." He nodded, writing something down in his notepad before turning to Tsuki again.

"Alright then, so... you're originally from Japan, correct?"

"Yes, from Namimori..."

"And you got married to the Varia's Belphegor this November...?" Tsuki looked at the detective for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed at the newer questions, but she said nothing about it. She nodded.

"That's right... the 12th.." She was unlikely to ever forget that night... and, of course, _the morning after._.. when she woke up in Belphegor's bed wearing a wedding dress and nursing the mother of all hangovers. She still remembered the sheer horror she felt being chased down the Varia's big halls by Squalo, who had at first mistaken her for an intruder... and Fran, shaking a marriage certificate in front of her face and offering his condolences as he told her to just murder Bel in his sleep. It seemed like so long ago...

"Tsukiko...?"

"Huh? Oh... sorry. What did you say...?"

"I asked if you have been living here since."

"Oh, er, yes... I have." Macchione looked up then, and the look in his eyes made Tsuki flinch.

"You are aware, I think, that all this time people have been thinking of you as missing?"

"Missing? Well, I-"

"Your old friends, acquaintances, your boyfriend, your parents. I do not believe you have been in touch with any of them? They're surely very worried."

Well, there was no denying _that one_. A phone call once every few weeks could hardly be considered "keeping in touch with someone"... well, it could, just not when she used to call three times a week. Her parents were dead worried, and Tsuki knew that well enough without being told so by a detective. But it wasn't like she could just leave and go see them, or tell them the truth, for that matter.

_Hey mom, dad... nice seeing you again after three months, oh by the way, I'm married. To a mafia hitman with some serious mental issues. He's a prince though... or so he claims at least. So, what's for dinner?_ Yeah, because that would go over well. Her teenage years had been bad enough with her dad scaring off any possible love interests... and all of _those _had been harmless teenage boys... it had taken her ages to convince him to let her go out, and even then he always tended to give her boyfriends (or even a simple friend that he mistook for something more) the evil eye. Not that she'd had many anyway... Diego had been the third, making Bel the-

Tsuki blinked, her train of thought abruptly brought to an end. A face flashed before her eyes, a fight which ended with her screaming at the familiar face that she was married before she attempted to storm off. And for a moment her attention was solely focused on that person.

She had completely forgotten she'd even met him that day... but she had, hadn't she? She didn't remember, had she seen him leave?

"Tsukiko, I want you to tell me what happened." Macchione's voice brought her thoughts back to Earth. He had, sometime during the while she'd been lost in her own thoughts, leaned in closer to her, making not looking at his face almost impossible. He wasn't smiling either. "From what I have heard of you, I do not believe you would willingly kill or even hurt anyone. You just don't come across as the kind... so what happened?"

Of course he had known from the very beginning... why else would he request to talk only to her in specific? Tsuki bit her lip, her mind just buzzing with that much noise it was starting to give her a migraine as she tried, so so hard, to just think clearly.

What could she do?

What was she supposed to do in this situation? Bel would know, she had no doubt about it... but he wasn't there now... She had to figure this out on her own somehow...

Think, think, just _think_ damn it.

"I can get you a good lawyer and who knows... you'll be able to get out in a few years... I just need you to tell me what happened, because I don't know."

"..."

"I know something happened. Come on, I've looked into your background, simple girls with average grades and normal lives like yours don't just end up married to the Varia's ripping prince one day!"

"I-" Tsuki bit her lip, and closed her mouth again. This wasn't the time for outbursts.

"You were happy, I personally, cannot fathom why you would leave Venice to do this... were you forced? Or were you just driven by your anger because of the breakup? Did you think this would be a better life for you...?"

"It wasn't like... um, I- I don't think this- this is any of your business..."

But he didn't stop.

"You can't honestly tell me you are happy with your marriage. You're the kind of woman that would want to get settled, have a family and a happily ever after. I don't know how you got involved in this mess, but I do know that you do not belong here. You didn't marry him because you loved him, did you? He is amurderer_, a monster_. You probably know what he's capable of after all those months. He's a lunatic that has tortured and murdered people since before you could barely even _read and write_! There is no possible way anyone could be in love with_ that!_"

For a few moments, Tsuki could only stare at the detective, the silence hanging over them like the blade of a guillotine, her brown eyes wide with surprise as the words sank in, slowly but surely. The surprise was quickly replaced by a glare as Tsuki placed her cup of tea back on the table, perhaps with a bit more force than necessary, and got up.

"My marriage is... it's none of your business. Yes, I am aware of who Bel is, I know what he does. You think I don't know that he has killed people, innocent people that didn't deserve it? Little children? And enjoyed it?! Laughed about it?! I am perfectly aware of all that! And yes damn it, I don't like it! It's horrible, and disgusting and- and- and I might be a horrible person for saying this... but _I don't care_! I love my husband and I can't change that or who he is! So don't you dare, _don't you dare_ tell me all that as if you know everything! Because you don't! You know nothing!"

Macchione looked surprised at her outburst, he opened his mouth to speak, perhaps to contradict her, perhaps to calm her down. But which it was, would never be found out. Never in her whole life could Tsuki remember being this angry, this... this frustrated and just plain_ infuriated_. And it wasn't even per se Macchione she was angry at. She was just angry, without a true goal or reason, and all her feelings, suppressed and bottled up as they had been for months now, just happened to burst out then.

Tsuki couldn't remember having screamed at someone like that before, being completely hysteric, angry to the point of tears, and still not stopping, simply being unable to. She just shouted and shouted until her voice was hoarse, until she had nothing to shout anymore and Macchione was just sitting in his chair, staring at her, completely stunned.

But she couldn't deny it, she felt better. Even with her tears running down her cheeks endlessly like a waterfall, her breathing heavy and her throat burning... it felt good to have it all out in the open.

She felt a whole lot lighter than she had been in a while.

* * *

><p>Evening found Tsuki nestled in Belphegor's warm sheets and blankets, absently staring out of the window as she watched the white little snowflakes dance about unhindered. It was snowing... cold enough to let Mammon allow them to finally turn the heat up a few notches... a miracle indeed.<p>

It had been a few hours since Macchione left, and now that Tsuki was calm again, her mind couldn't help but wander back to that morning... and she couldn't help but ask herself, was it really alright? She doubted that her losing her temper was a good thing, but none of the Varia members had seemed to be angry at her or alarmed by it... Lussuria had even said it didn't matter, she should just get some rest... but how could it not matter? Tsuki couldn't imagine how a pissed off detective would do them any good. He would surely be back and, if that was the case, better prepared than before.

They were the Varia of course, and Tsuki knew that the seven of them were said to be able to make the impossible possible... but the brunette just didn't get the logic behind this whole thing.

And there was more of course... that familiar face that kept bugging her, a feeling that she couldn't shake off no matter how hard she tried. He had been there... it could be no one else really, looking at things logically, Tsuki was pretty sure that he had even seen her being dragged away... but had he stayed? Had he seen what had happened next?

She couldn't know that. If he hadn't... she would just be risking getting an innocent person involved, and knowing the Varia, they wouldn't care enough to spare his life... but if he _had_, by some chance, been there. If he _had _stayed... then there was a pretty big chance that he was the one that-

"Ushishi~ don't make your brain overthink itself, peasant." Bel's snickering laughter cut through her thoughts as she suddenly realized that her husband was standing in front of her, blocking her view of falling snowflakes. The brunette blinked and looked back at the prince's grinning face.

"Bel...? What are you doing here?" She asked, confused. How long had he been standing there anyway?

"Funny you should ask." He snickered teasingly. "Last time the prince checked this was his room." Tsuki's eyes trailed down to the prince's hands, where a plate of food was being held. Noticing her eyes lingering on it, the blonde shoved the bowl of what she now realized was pasta in her hands. "Lussuria made it, he hasn't shut up about how you didn't come down for dinner... so eat it."

"Ah... thanks..." Tsuki wasn't really hungry... or more accurately, she didn't really feel like eating anything right now. She still turned a few of the long thin strings of spaghetti around her fork and stuck them in her mouth, chewing and swallowing slowly.

The prince kicked aside some of the junk lying on his floor (among them a laptop that had a knife stuck through its screen, some socks (none of which formed a pair), neglected mission reports from up to eight months ago and a book which looked like it had never even been touched) and made his way over to the other side of the bed, plopping down on it and making himself comfortable.

Tsuki felt his eyes on her for a while before the blonde spoke.

"Aren't you going to eat that?"

"I'm just... not that hungry right now."

"You should eat it." Tsuki raised an eyebrow at Bel's persistence, but shrugged it off, deciding to reluctantly take another bite. Bel seemed satisfied enough and for a moment longer they sat in silence.

Tsuki glanced at Bel through another forkful of spaghetti, her mind momentarily being at war.

Should she tell him? … but what if she was wrong? What if she told them and someone that had absolutely nothing at all to do with this ordeal got injured... or killed? Because she certainly wouldn't put it past the Varia...

She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if that happened...

But what... what if she was _right_? What- what if...

"Hey Bel..." She paused, her tone hesitant as the brunette turned to look at the blonde assassin sitting next to her, twirling a silver knife around his fingers. Belphegor's head tilted in her direction, a 'hmm?' confirming that he was listening to her. "You know how... how Macchione mentioned a source?"

"Yeah, what about it? Ushishi~ we'll soon have the peasant, there are plenty informants looking for him already..."

"Ah... well, that might... not be necessary. I think I might know who the source is..."

* * *

><p>Diego woke up with a start, his green eyes wide and bewildered as he sat up straight in his sofa and looked around him, quickly scanning the dark living room. There was nothing there of course... just a lot of shadows, created from the streetlight just outside his window and the dark, familiar shapes of his furniture...<p>

The wind was blowing outside, and the TV was still turned on. The movie he had been watching had long since ended though, and there was now a documentary about sharks on instead. The fridge was making a lot noise... but that was normal, it was an old thing and needed replacing. There was nothing out of ordinary going on.

Even so, Diego was sure he had been awoken by a very loud noise just now... had he been imagining things? Perhaps it was a dream...? The blonde didn't know. Maybe.

After a few more seconds of silent observing, he decided it must've been that. There was no one there but himself. It was ridiculous to even think that.

Shaking his head at his own paranoia, the blonde got up from the sofa, grabbed the remote from the table and turned the TV off. He was just going to get himself a glass of water and then go to sleep... yes, that sounded great.

He didn't bother to turn the lights on, the light from the streetlamp just outside his apartment was good enough. He took a glass from the cupboard, filled it with tap water and drank. When he was done he put the glass in the sink.

_And now off to bed..._ he told himself as he turned around to leave the kitchen. But he hadn't gotten far when he froze right in his tracks.

His front door, which he was sure he had locked before he started watching his movie that night, was open. And in the doorway, he could make out two figures standing. A tall one, and a shorter one with a... over-sized head...? It was too dark make out their features, or even their faces... but something about them just made him _really _uncomfortable. And it wasn't just because those two people had managed to sneak into his apartment without him even noticing. Diego felt a shiver run down his spine. He took a step back in surprise.

"W-wha-"

"Diego Serroni?" He couldn't tell to who of the two figures the voice belonged to, but it was a low, dangerous kind of voice. It held no room for jokes or humor... and it made him uncomfortable. He might not have the IQ of a genius, but one did not need that to identify the underlying threat in the man's question. He felt like lying to those two strangers would not be a good option.

He quickly nodded, then realized they probably couldn't see that, considering how dark it was.

"Y-yes."

"Ushishi~ so you didn't lie... pity. Y_ou're smarter than you look_."

Under normal circumstances Diego would've reacted to the taunt, but as it was he simply clenched his jaw. There were two strangers in his apartment and one of them even had the gall to laugh at him... this realization suddenly seemed to help him regather all his lost courage. Whoever those two were, he decided, he didn't want them in his home.

"I don't know who you are, or what kind of business you have here at..." He glanced at the clock on his wall "...four at night, but if you don't get out of my house, I _will_ call the police."

Yeah, that was it, punks like those always left at the mention of cops. Only that, apparently, the two strangers were not 'punks' or anything of the like. The tall figure let out that ominous-sounding laugh again, snickering as if Diego had just told him a joke, and not threatened to set the cops on their asses.

"_The police?_" He repeated, and though the blonde Italian could not see him he could practically _hear_ the smirk -cruel, taunting- in his voice._ "_You'll have to try better than that, peasant."

_The hell...?_

It was then that the stranger decided to do Diego the honor of moving a bit closer, the light from the streetlamp outside being just enough to illuminate his figure and let the blonde get a good look. He was blonde as well, his hair long and messy, completely hiding anything above the tip of his nose from view, a big feral grin adorning his lips. He seemed to be wearing some kind of a uniform, but Diego didn't recognize the design. There was a glint from somewhere in his hair as he moved even closer and it was only then that the Italian's attention fell to what looked like a _tiara_ in the man's hair. _What kind of a man wore a **tiara**?_ Only six-year-old girls usually did.

"Senpaaai... can you just get this over with?" The blonde's lips didn't move so Diego could only assume that the monotone voice belonged to the second figure, who had yet to reveal himself. "I haven't slept all night... and you drive like a complete maniac."

"Shut up frog."

It was in the moment that the tiara-wearing guy turned to his companion, a small _thunk_ making it clear that whatever he threw at the boy hit home, that the Italian caught sight of _it_. The logo, the emblem sewed onto the man's uniform.

His blood turned cold and his green eyes widened in sheer terror, his face instantly losing all of its color as realization hit him. Hard.

T-the- the _**Varia**? _Why, WHY?! _WHY_ would they be there?! He backed off until his back met a wall, and even then he still tried to get further away from the grinning man who seemed quite pleased with his reaction as he followed him into the kitchen, twirling what looked like _a knife _around his fingers. He had never had the misfortune of meeting any of them before... but Diego _knew_ it had to be them.

Everyone in Italy that hadn't been living under a rock for the past twenty years or so had heard of them at some point. The Vongola's strongest and most feared assassins, seven _demons _that wouldn't hesitate to murder their own comrades or family in cold blood if they ever happened to get in the way. And that was also when everything inside his mind suddenly clicked. The grin. The laugh. The- the _tiara._ It was... the Varia's _ripper prince_.

Diego couldn't stop the violent shiver that ran down his spine as he tried to press himself even closer to the wall, anything to put as much distance as he possibly could between himself and the blonde hitman.

Out of everyone in the Varia, it was _Prince The Ripper_ thatcommon folks heard most about. He was a ruthless lunatic. There were rumors that they were still _looking _for the remains of some of his victims. It wasn't unusual to hear that some idiot walking alone in an alleyway late at night got killed. Weird people walked around, drug addicts, crazy people, criminals... especially when you found yourself in the wrong parts of town (Diego's place was luckily a good distance away from there). But there were always those more... gruesome cases. Those that got labeled as an accident, or a suicide by the police.

But who would be fooled by that?

When was it heard of of someone that wanted to commit suicide cutting off all his fingers, or stabbing his own eye before actually taking their own lives?

But the police covered it up, and no one ever spoke of it again.

A horrible image flashed through his mind at that moment, the picture of his body, pale, bloody... dead... being taken away by the police. And no one ever investigating or talking about it again... his neighbours acting as though he just moved, or was never there at all... his parents crying, but not even them daring to press any charges. Yes, that was the fate of the Varia's victims. Diego tried his hardest not to think of it.

"Ah... seems like he recognized you senpai..." The second figure had followed Prince The Ripper into the kitchen, and now Diego could get a good look at him as well. He was younger than the blonde, with mint green hair and a seemingly emotionless face. He wore the same uniform as the blonde prince and on his head was a giant... frog hat.

"Ushishi~ of course, _I'm a prince_." Diego felt his legs give in under him as the man turned to him, his eyes on the knife in the 'prince's' hand. "Not that brave anymore I see... whatever happened to calling the police, hmmm?"

"W-wha-wh-what do you wa-want from m-me?!"

"That's no fun." The blonde grinned. "The prince wanted to _play _a bit."

"You know... we actually need him alive if you want your wife staying out of jail, fake prince."

"I know that frog." Diego flinched, his eyes becoming as wide as saucers when the knife in Prince The Ripper's hand was suddenly chucked at the boy, hitting the frog hat. He- he would do that to his own comrade?! "And I'm not a fake. Plus, we need him alive..._ no one said in one piece_."

"You're such a twisted human being, why anyone would want to marry you is beyond me." Despite his words, and Diego's pleading looks, the boy made no move to help or stop his teammate, simply standing by the counter with his hands crossed behind his back.

He looked completely uninterested in whatever Prince The Ripper had in store for Diego...!

"Where to start?" The blonde grinned sadistically as he knelt down in order to be closer to Diego, pulling out a few more knives from his pockets. "Fingers, nails, toes, tongue? Decisions, decisions..."

"W-w-wait! No! P-plea-pl-please!"

"Hmm, no he still needs his fingers I guess... ushishi~ the tongue as well, for now. But those filthy peasant hands touched what belongs to the prince, and_ peasants shouldn't touch what belongs to royalty_. What to do, what to do~"

Diego was scared out of his wits. He was completely terrified of the lunatic that spoke of torturing him with such casualty that he might as well have been discussing yesterday's weather. He didn't even have the slightest idea what he was going on about...! What- when did he-? Had he taken something that was his? Why would he? When even? The blonde certainly seemed to be convinced of his words though.

"P-ple-pl-please! I- I don't know what you're t-t-tal-talking about! I swear! You- you've got the wrong pe-p-person...!"

"Is that so?" If anything, the hitman in front of him looked amused. Diego regarded him wide-eyed. "That's not what _Tsuki _told the prince. You met her three weeks ago, and you had a fight, didn't you? She was dragged off then, and you must've followed. Ushishi~ _stupid peasant_, haven't you ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?"

"W-wh-wha-" How- how did he know that? Wait. Tsuki? As in... no. No. That couldn't be. Why- why would she even know a man like him?! Let alone tell him all this?! True to what Prince The Ripper had said though, he _had_ seen Tsuki that day, he had followed her as well, and witnessed it all. He had been too far to make out what they had been saying, but he saw Tsuki killing someone. Was it too far fetched to believe she might know... the Varia's ripper prince? Yes. Yes. Of course it was... the girl could barely stand looking at blood, _on TV_, without becoming sick. But then- then how did Prince the Ripper-

"You shouldn't have gone to the police, it caused us a lot of trouble you know." Before Deigo had the time to comprehend what exactly was going on, the blonde grabbed his collar and yanked him up, harshly. The Italian stumbled, but Prince The Ripper didn't seem to mind as he pressed a knife against the former's Adam's apple, causing him to completely freeze. "You'll just have to make up for that, won't you?"

"I-"

"The prince didn't say you could speak." Diego could feel a trickle of blood running down his neck as the hitman put a bit more pressure on his knife. "Now listen. You will take the phone, call Machione, and without mentioning anything about us, and believe me we _will _understand if you try to tell him secretly, you will convince him to stay away from Tsuki. Tell him you lied, or that you didn't get a good look at her face and that it wasn't her. I don't care, just _get him to drop the investigation_. Got it?"

Deigo, unable to do much else, vigorously nodded.

"I said,_ got it_?"

"Y-yes...!" He let out a sigh of relief as the knife was removed from his throat, the assassin moving away a bit to open up the way for him.

"Do it. Now."

Only an idiot would've ignored that command.

* * *

><p>"Lussuria...?" Tsuki hesitantly asked as she poked her head inside the kitchen that morning, her brown eyes scanning the room for the Varia's flamboyant hitman. It didn't take her long to spot him, he was standing in front of the stove preparing what smelt like either pancakes or waffles as he hummed a tune, wearing a pink apron over his Varia uniform.<p>

"Oh, Tsuki...! Good morning." He cheerfully smiled as he looked over his shoulder. "How did you sleep?"

"Um, good morning... and fine, I feel a lot better."

"That's nice then..." He turned his attention back to whatever was in the pan, taking a moment to flip it with his spatula before addressing the brunette once more. "Could you do me a favour and set the table please? Breakfast's almost ready." Tsuki nodded, moving over to the cupboard to take out plates, forks and knives for everyone.

She took a moment to set the table in silence, Lussuria's humming and the slight 'clink' plates and cutlery made as they were set on the table being the only things audible. The Varia' castle had been unusually quiet that morning, Tsuki supposed Xanxus was still sleeping, and Mammon was probably still in her room as well, as was Fran. She could only suppose that Squalo was a) still asleep or b) already up and about and doing some morning training outside. Levi would be getting out of the infirmary this morning, or so Lussuria had said last night at least. Tsuki could imagine him sitting in his room at the very moment, writing a very long letter of apology to Xanxus for his absence and inability to take up any missions.

And as for Bel... well, Tsuki wasn't exactly sure _where_ he was at. She had woken up in the prince's bed that morning as it had become a bit of a habit to ever since the night three weeks ago, he didn't seem to really mind it and the feeling of his warmth, his arms around her and calm in- and outtakes of breath next to her fended off the nightmares, it made her feel safe. It was no longer awkward, like sharing a bed back in Sienna had been (though whether or not Bel had shared her feelings of awkwardness even back then was a subject still up for discussion), it was almost... natural. It didn't feel so strange anymore to wake up in the luxurious, though unbelievably messy, room that was Belphegor's, the blonde's arms around her.

This morning though she had woken up to an empty bed, both Mink (who Tsuki had discovered regularly slept in Bel's bed) and Belphegor nowhere to be found. It wasn't like she was worried or anything since she knew the blonde prince was more than capable of defending himself... sudden missions weren't all that uncommon. Still, he would usually let her know.

"Hey Lussuria..." Tsuki set down the last knife on the table, pausing to push a lock of her brown hair behind her ear before turning to the man she had just addressed.

"Hmm?"

"Do you happen to know where Bel is...? I haven't seen him around yet..."

"Well, he left yesterday night for a mission together with Fran-chan... you were probably asleep already. They should be back... any moment now, actually." Tsuki nodded, taking this in and frowning, an unpleasant feeling keeping her from being at ease quite yet.

"Ah, I see. They didn't- they didn't go to Venice by any chance... did they?"

"Why yes, I believe that is where they went." The man put the last few pancakes on the plate next to him, turning to the sink in order to pour some water into the pan before placing it back on the stove which he had turned off some moments earlier. "Don't worry though, they're not going to kill the guy... Diego, wasn't it? They're just going to convince him to drop the charges."

"Convince him...?" Tsuki wasn't sure if she wanted to know what that would include... especially if the one doing the _convincing _was her husband. Knowing him it would probably involve blood, and knives...

"Yes, Diego Serroni might get a bit of a scare... that's probably all though. They're not allowed to hurt him."

"They aren't?" Somehow Tsuki doubted that... since when was the Varia not allowed to do whatever the heck they wanted? Even if there _was_ some sort of rule like that though, she didn't see how that would keep Bel from doing it either way. She was pretty sure that he never had much regards for rules.

"Well, not exactly. But you see, Bel cares about you, so I'm sure he won't kill him. Scare him out of him mind, threaten and give him minor injuries...? Most likely, but he's very well aware how important Diego is for your case. After all, if he turned up dead, it would only make you look more suspicious. Same as with if he suddenly showed up in front of the police, half dead and tortured claiming you're innocent."

Thank god. As much as she didn't like him, Tsuki knew that even Diego didn't deserve to be killed by Bel's hand... or knives. Knowing how possessive he could get, and how sadistic he could be even without that occurring... well, considering her previous relationship with Diego... it wouldn't bode well for the Italian.

Lussuria sighed and shook his head as he sat down at the table next to Tsuki. Mammon had apparently already eaten, and the others would eat whenever they saw it fit.

"Really, this would've all been so much easier if you were just part of the Varia... I mean, a real part... not just by association through Bel. The police would've just let us be from the very beginning .." At Tsuki's questioning look, the man elaborated. "You see, when Tsunayoshi-kun came to power many things changed around here... treaties, new agreements. Back in the days of the ninth Vongola boss whenever the police got to close we were allowed to simply kill them... then we would cover it up, pull some strings and the matter would be forgotten... I can remember Bel deliberately causing a mess with obvious clues pointing in his direction so that the police would come after him when he was going through puberty..." He shook his head, realizing he was straying from the subject. "Well, the point is that now that Tsunayoshi-kun has become the Vongola tenth things changed. We're supposed to leave civilians out of our business, we're not supposed to do them anything unless we have a very good reason to. But you know, those rules aren't really... there are exceptions, stray bullets, accidents, or people that were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw something they shouldn't have. And then there are... people like Bel, who go out, do their thing and are smart enough to stay undiscovered... where I'm going with this though is that one of the newer deals the tenth made keeps the police out of our business, and in exchange for that, we do the same. There are always loopholes in such deals though, while people like myself, the rest of the Varia and the Vongola are perfectly protected from the authorities... people like you aren't. You're not one of us so in theory they have the right to do whatever they want, and because the deal binds us we're practically powerless in the sense of fighting them off."

Tsuki remembered Bel having jumped up yesterday after the detective announced that he wanted to talk to her, he had seemed ready to kill Macchione on the spot, and she suddenly realized why Lussuria and Squalo had held him back then. Why none of them had acted despite the scary, suffocating aura that seemed to be hanging above them all like a dark cloud. She didn't know what the reciprocation for breaking the mafia law would be... but she could imagine it would not be pretty. It had never truly occurred to her that this whole thing, the Varia, the Vongola, the mafia... was so well organized. With rules and codes and complicated agreements that they had to know and follow (regardless of whether or not they actually did).

Lussuria was still speaking, long finished with this breakfast and now drinking a glass of orange juice that he had poured himself while Tsuki was lost in her own thoughts.

"There are still ways to manipulate the flow though," he said "there is bribing for one, and you can always play puppeteer and pull strings. Make the eyewitnesses deny anything ever happened. Even if the police suspects something then they can't do anything without their eyewitness. It's not like you were ever in any real danger of being arrested, even if this didn't work I'm sure bribing would've worked. Bel's pretty powerful in political terms you know, he can call in some pretty useful favours thanks to his lineage..."

Those last words suddenly shifted Tsuki's attention to something else as she blinked, her eyes focusing on Lussuria once more.

"So... he's really, a _prince_?" She never knew _what _to believe, the Varia usually acted like they didn't care or disregarded it like parents did when their children claimed that they saw a unicorn in the backyard... Fran even blatantly expressing his disbelief by calling him a fake prince and a delusional maniac... among other things. She had always been wondering though, what if Bel really was a real prince? She had already accepted the fact that she was married to mafia assassin that had an unhealthy obsession with both blood and killing... but a prince? A real one that had a kingdom, riches and a _throne_? That was taking it to a whole different level... completely.

"To tell you the truth..." Lussuria murmured thoughtfully, pausing for a moment "I don't really know. Bel-chan certainly claims so, he has since the moment we met him. I can tell you that he comes from a very powerful and influential family though, he has managed to get us out of several sticky situations..."

Tsuki nodded as the man grew silent, her breakfast done as well by now. She got up and took both of their plates to the sink, depositing them in there. When everyone had eaten, she would do the dishes.

"Oh, and thanks for yesterday... for the spaghetti I mean."

"Spaghetti...?" The man questioned, having gotten up as well to put his own plate in the sink.

"Erm, yeah... you know, Bel said you..." She trailed off as she caught sight of the man's confused look and shook her head. "Um, never mind."

As she stepped out of the kitchen, Tsuki wondered how it didn't occur to her earlier... usually, Lussuria would've made some kind of a sauce or something to go with the spaghetti, add some spice for the taste. The spaghetti last night had been bare though, a bit overcooked as well. Not to mention... way too salty for some reason. Lussuria was too experienced a cook to serve something like that.

Tsuki smiled.

She would have to thank Belphegor when he got back...


	25. Blackout

"_Ow. _That was my foot, peasant!"

"Voooii! Well if you weren't standing in my fucking way-"

"Boss! Boss! Where are you?!"

"Ushishi~ we could just let Visone temp-"

"No fucking way! Keep that skunk in its box! The last thing we need right now is for the castle to be burnt down!"

"Long-haired captaaaain, we already can't see as much as a centimeter in front of our noses, don't render us unable to hear anything either."

"Boss! Answer me, please! Boss!"

"If you don't have anything helpful to say, don't say anything at all, Fran!"

"Boss! BOSS!"

"VOOOII! SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

* * *

><p><em>A while ago<em>

* * *

><p>"This is <em>so <em>nice...!"

The enthusiastic squeal tore right through the Varia castle's thick silence, reaching the west wing living room situated on the second floor a few moments before its owner actually came inside, practically bursting with ill-contained excitement.

"It's just _perfect_!" He giddily exclaimed, the little stars of glee in his eyes almost being visible. One could practically _see_ the imaginary flowers and hearts pouring out from him like a waterfall.

To be honest, Tsuki had recognized Lussuria's voice back at the first outburst several moments ago, only having looked up from her book curiously as the man pushed the big doors to the room open, the feathers of his bright orange boa billowing around him rather dramatically. The man had looked around expectantly, but his teammates didn't even spare him a glance as they simply went on with whatever it was they'd been doing before his interruption.

Out of everyone she had ever met, the Varia's sun guardian was probably the only person that would ever describe the Varia having been completely snowed in, disallowing anyone from entering or leaving the place... as 'perfect', or even 'nice' for that matter. To most, in fact, being stuck in such a situation was their biggest nightmare coming to life.

True, missions might've been canceled, and training with their superiors had also been temporarily put off for the grunts, everyone having been allowed to don their uniforms for the day, but they were still trapped inside a castle together with some of the mafia's most feared assassins. And knowing them and how easily some of them (*cough*Bel*cough*) got bored, as well as the habits they had to relieve themselves of that boredom, that was indeed not the best situation to find yourself in.

Other than that, the Varia HQ being a castle made out of stone, did not help keep it very warm, even with the heating having been blasted up as far as Mammon would allow it. Tsuki personally still needed her blanket in order to stay warm and comfortable as she sat in the living room alongside Bel and the others.

Yet Lussuria didn't seem to mind or even notice that at all, whatever had gotten inside his head, was refusing to be left unheard. Tsuki watched the man pout in disappointment as he realized everyone was simply ignoring his presence altogether.

Xanxus was sitting in his throne/chair (dragged down from his office by none other than Levi, of course), holding a glass of red wine and only paying attention to that, occasionally turning to Bester in order to run a tanned hand through the box animal's white-with-black-stripes fur. A bit behind him, Levi was standing, looking rather like a butler as he simply stared ahead, serious and unsmiling. He was holding a bottle of wine, coming forth solely to fill Xanxus' glass whenever it was empty before assuming his original position again.

Squalo was sitting on the sofa closest to Xanxus, furiously scrubbing his sword with some sort of a liquid with a scent similar to antiseptic as Mammon sat next to him, completely lost in a book about economics. She was so devoted to whatever she was reading that she had at some point even taken out a little notepad to jot down notes whenever she deemed that necessary.

Bel and Tsuki were sharing the second sofa, which was situated right in front of the big plasma TV, something that was of course no coincidence as the former was now playing some video game on it, Tsuki simply reading a book Lussuria had lent her a few days ago. Both of them were wrapped in a big red blanket the brunette had found lying around in Bel's room while attempting to tidy it up a bit some days ago, she had washed it (because who knew how long it had been lying there before she stumbled across it?) and stored it away. A good thing too, because it certainly came in handy now.

Last, but not least, was Fran. He had made himself comfortable on the ground and was currently playing video games with Bel. They were supposed to be on the same team, but more harm seemed to be done to their own teammates rather than the enemy team. Surprisingly though, even with Bel constantly shooting Fran's character and Fran deliberately trying to get Bel in sticky situations, they had yet to lose a single round. How exactly they did that, was beyond Tsuki.

"Mou...! Don't ignore me, you guys!" Lussuria whined as he got closer to the others, coming to a stop right in front of the TV and putting his hands on his hips, lips pressed tight together. He seemed ready to say something, but was interrupted before he could even start.

"Ushishi~ if you still want your arms and legs attached to the rest of you, _move_." Bel, who had craned his neck to look around Lussuria in order to keep up with the game said, grinning that infamous killer grin of his though Tsuki was pretty sure his blue eyes were narrowed at the older man.

"_Bel...!_" The man gasped. "That's not nice! Besides, we'll be stuck in here for a while, no missions, no obligations...! You surely don't intent to spend it playing _video games_?!"

"The prince told you to move."

"Come on, all of you guys, wouldn't it be nice to do a bit of _family bonding _now that we've got the time?" Tsuki didn't exactly see it happening, all her eyes caught was a flash of silver. Luckily though, Lussuria's reflexes were much better than hers for the man immediately ducked, causing the two blades to hit the wall instead, falling to the ground with a dull _clang_.

"Next time the prince won't miss. So _move_." Lussuria, apparently still valuing his life, hurried to get away from the TV, obviously disappointed that no one shared his enthusiasm for the potential activities this day could've held.

"..."

"Shit! Damn you, frog! Now I'm all out of bullets because of you!"

"... how is that my fault, fake prince? You're the one that keeps shooting me and wasting ammo... ow..." The boy pulled the silver knife out of his hat, sparing it a single glance before abruptly bending the thing and discarding it.

"Hey! Don't bend my knives, you little shit!" Fran gave the older male a deadpanned stare.

"Then don't throw them at me, senpai."

"You should both just be more considerate of the money that is spent each time the Varia needs to replace Bel's knives..." Tsuki heard Mammon mutter from somewhere to her right, sighing as she petted Phantasma's head. The infant simply returned to her book, knowing that the two of them wouldn't stop regardless of what she said. "We should make them pay the expenses themselves each time knives are destroyed during off mission time."

"Ushishi~ the prince doesn't need to pay anything." Bel snickered, turning to look at Mammon, Fran and the video game both forgotten. "You peasants should be honored you get to pay for the prince, in fact, it's a privilege. Not many people get to live with royalty."

"I don't know about the others, but I certainly don't feel privileged, senpai..."

"Shut up, that's because you're a frog."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's because you're a fake prince... and a psychopath, why aren't you in a mental hospital anyway? It would make the world a much more peaceful place."

It was no surprise to anyone when the next moment another knife was added to Fran's already extensive collection of identical silver knives on his frog hat. Tsuki didn't flinch or look surprised any longer... it was an everyday thing and Fran never seemed to be hurt anyway, the boy didn't even bleed.

"You better watch your back, frog. The prince will kill you one day."

"My point exactly... you're so violent. I'm getting worried for Tsuki-san." Despite what he said, the complete monotone in his voice made the sincerity of his words questionable.

"I told you to shut it." Bel hissed, chucking another knife at Fran (how many did he have on him anyway?) before he returned to his game, pressing a button to reload it since the both of them had been killed sometime during Bel and Fran's fight.

The brunette looked down at her book again, planning on reading a bit more. That plan, however, was abruptly interrupted when the living room was plunged into complete darkness.

"Ah...?"

"Oh my...! The lights went out!" Tsuki recognized Lussuria's voice.

"Yes... we noticed." Fran.

"Vooi, an enemy attack?"

"Enemy attack?!" That instantly seemed to get Levi's attention. "Boss! Boss, are you alright? Where are you?!" There was a loud sound, and Tsuki could only assume that, in his hurry to check if Xanxus was okay, Levi had tripped over something. And pushed it over. And fallen over it himself.

What felt like a hand was suddenly wrapped around her own, causing the brunette to let out a surprised and panicked squeak as she tried to pull away, her mind already flooding with worst-case scenario's of how this could turn out. The grip on her hand tightened and she felt herself being pulled closer to whoever was holding her.

"Relax, it's the prince." The words whispered into her ear sent a shiver down her spine, at the same time comforting her restless mind and wild imagination, because she knew that voice, she knew it well.

"Bel..." She breathed. "You scared me..."

"Ushishi~ come on." Still holding onto her hand, the man got up and gave it a slight tug, urging the brunette to follow his actions as he wandered further into the dark living room. She suspected that only the experience of having lived in that exact same castle for almost his whole life, was what caused them to avoid hitting anything.

"Boss! Boss! Where are you?!"

"Mou! I can't see anything in this darkness...!"

Tsuki suddenly felt the blonde hitman that was holding her hand jerk back, muttering a curse as he hissed-

"_Ow. _That was my foot, peasant!"

"Voooii! Well if you weren't standing in my fucking way-" He was interrupted by a loud _clang_ coming from behind them. Tsuki whipped around, even though she couldn't see anything, her eyes wide.

"Ooops... that was a frying pan... my bad, my bad." Lussuria's voice came from the kitchen. From somewhere else in the living room Levi could still be heard shouting.

"Boss! Boss! Where are you?!"

He was simply ignored as Bel talked to his strategy captain.

"Ushishi~ we could just let Visone temp-"

"No fucking way! Keep that skunk in its box! The last thing we need right now is for the castle to be burnt down!"

"Long-haired captaaaain, we already can't see as much as a centimeter in front of our noses, don't render us unable to hear anything either."

"Boss! Answer me, please! Boss!"

"If you don't have anything helpful to say, don't say anything at all, Fran!"

"Boss! BOSS!"

"VOOOII! SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

"Ah, found it!" And the next moment, Lussuria ran into the room, holding a flashlight, some candles and a match box.

"Boss!" Levi sighed in relief as his eyes fell on Xanxus, still asleep on his chair, not even slightly bothered by the commotion around him. Bel snickered.

"As expected of our boss, he slept right through the whole thing."

"Voooi, right, now that we have some sort of light we need to find out what we'll do." Squalo said, automatically taking charge of the situation. Tsuki was almost surprised that no one resisted. _Almost_, because he _was_ the Varia's strategy commander and second-in-command, and that had to count for something. "Lussuria, how many candles do you have?"

"Um...well let me see... one, two... four. Six, I've got six and a flashlight."

Squalo grunted, a frown visible on his pale face.

"That'll have to do, give me the flashlight. Everyone else grab a candle." The rest of the Varia and Tsuki quickly obeyed, taking a moment as Lussuria carefully lit their candles before turning to look back at the sword emperor, awaiting instructions. "Levi, you stay here with boss for now. Lussuria, you go check the hospital wing. Belphegor, take Aohana with you and go take a look around this floor. Fran, go with Lussuria. Mammon, the basement. I'm going to the control room. Be back here within half an hour."

With that the seven of them split up, Tsuki minding to keep close to Belphegor at all times as they wandered down the castle's dark hallways with only their candles as a light source. Belphegor, not only knowing the place much better than Tsuki did but also being the only one of the two of them that could put up a good fight in case something were to happen, had taken it upon himself to lead the way. And the brunette was more than glad to simply have to follow.

"Hey Bel... do you think someone has really gotten inside?" The brunette whispered as she quickened her pace just a bit, her brown eyes darting around and inspecting the big shadows created by the moonlight outside the windows every time she thought she saw something move.

Belphegor 'hmm'ed thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging.

"It would certainly be a first. There are always guards around, and the people in the control room are always checking the cameras... it should be practically impossible to come in or leave unnoticed."

"So... what do you think it is then?"

"We'll just have to wait and find out, won't we?" Bel snickered, the sound reverberating through the Varia's empty halls and making the whole thing seem even more like a bad horror movie than it already did.

It was just as Tsuki was about to open her mouth to say something else that the blonde suddenly came to a complete stop, causing her to bump into his back.

"Bel...?" She tugged at the back of his shirt. "Bel, what's wrong?" She was whispering, but her voice didn't fail to convey her feelings of urgency and fear as she tugged at her husband's striped shirt again.

It was a moment before the prince responded, finally turning to the woman, and motioning her to be silent, his index finger pressed on his lips as he nodded slightly to the right. The brunette squinted, needing to look around in the general direction of what Bel had nodded at for a few seconds before finally catching sight of it. Tsuki's brown eyes widened, then quickly narrowed at the shadow that had suddenly moved... there was something, some_one _behind that cupboard. Her eyes snapped back to Bel and the hitman pushed his candle in her hand, pulling a knife out of his pocket.

"Stay there." The words were uttered in such a low tone that Tsuki almost missed it, but she nodded, only backing off a bit, her eyes glued on Bel as he soundlessly walked over to where she had seen the shadow move earlier. She noticed him readying his knife, taking a stance that she assumed meant he was about to attack.

The knife went up high, and higher, and higher until-

"No! No! Please wait! I'm not an enemy...!" Bel paused, the knife only centimeters away from the person's face. Tsuki could hear the shallow breathing, the quick, erratic in- and outtakes of breath. Belphegor simply watched the person critically, as if thinking of what to do with him.

"Che." The blade was gone in an instant, and instead, Belphegor reached for the young man, yanking him up none too gently and shoving him away from his safe place. The unknown man stumbled, but managed to get a hold of himself before he fell, eyes wide and fearful as he looked at the Varia's storm commander.

In the dim light of the moon, Tsuki recognized the Varia uniform... an underling? It had to be, for Bel seemed to have recognized him.

"What the hell are you doing here, peasant?" The coolness of Bel's voice made the guy flinch, taking a step back on impulse. The brunette couldn't really blame him either, Belphegor could be terrifying when he wanted to, he could also be deadly. Very deadly. "Low-rank officers are supposed to go back to their quarters in case of emergency."

"I-I'm sorry, s-sir! I- I- I just- I got- I got l-lost!" It was no man, Tsuki could tell by the voice as it quivered fearfully, wide eyes staring at his superior, like a deer caught in the headlights. His voice was too light to belong to an adult quite yet... it was a boy, sixteen, or maybe seventeen. Probably one of the newest recruits. For a moment, Tsuki couldn't help but think of her own younger brother, Seiji (he would almost be sixteen by now, wouldn't he?)... and her heart clenched painfully at the thought of him being in such a situation.

"Bel..." She stepped closer to the the two males, just a bit. Belphegor scoffed.

"Fine. He's not the prince's problem to deal with anyway." He turned to Tsuki, taking his candle back as the boy took the opportunity to pull himself together a bit, composing himself enough so that he at least wasn't shaking anymore. Though the slight tremor was still there. "Who's your commander, peasant?"

"S-Superbi Squalo, sir."

"Ushishi, the rain squad huh~?" Bel grinned and Tsuki grimaced, both knowing that if the commander of said rain squad found out about this, the boy would probably be put through hell and back. "Well, there's nothing we can do about this now. You'll just have to come along until the prince is finished checking out the place."

The boy wasn't foolish enough to refuse of course, so he nodded, moving over to them but still preferring to keep a safe distance from the blonde hitman.

They walked on some more, in silence this time, Bel leading as always and Tsuki and the boy following right behind him. Tsuki didn't fail to notice the questioning glances the boy kept giving her.

"I'm Tsukiko." She offered, startling the kid since he'd apparently thought he'd been doing a good job at watching her without her knowing. A pink blush of embarrassment spread over his cheeks as he quickly stuttered out some nonsense.

Tsuki smiled a little, he didn't seem like a bad kid, but how had he gotten into the Varia of all places?

"Erm... Leo. Second division of the rain squad." The brunette blinked at the second part of the introduction, this being one of the very few times she had spoken to anyone in the Varia other than the seven commanders. She still nodded, wanting to remain polite.

"It's nice to meet you."

"... likewise..." Tsuki guessed there weren't many people in the Vongola's independent assassination squad that really valued pleasantries, she decided to ignore it. She'd been brought up that way, and she was not going to start being rude to people. "Uh... I'm sorry for asking, but are you new as well or something...? I don't think I've seen you around before... unless you're one of the maids-"

"Ah, no no, it's not like that, actually I-"

"She's the prince's wife." Bel suddenly interrupted their conversation, his tone clearly hostile as he (Tsuki guessed) glared at Squalo's subordinate. The poor boy immediately paled, and Tsuki guessed her reputation as Bel's wife (and most likely, how possessive he could at times get) had reached his ears at some point. The prince grabbed her wrist and pulled the brunette closer. "So stay away."

"Bel...!"

Not that he listened to her anyway... he never seemed to listen to anyone, his wife included.

* * *

><p>"VOOOOOOOIIII! What the fuck took you so long, you dipshit! I specifically told you to be back within half an hour!" Squalo's screaming face was what the two Varia members and Tsuki were met with the moment they entered the living room.<p>

"Ushishi, shut up Squalo. It wouldn't have taken nearly as long if it wasn't for _him_." Tsuki felt Leo stiffen next to her, and she couldn't help but both pity him and be happy she wasn't in his shoes as Squalo's angry eyes focused on the boy.

"The hell?! What are _you_ doing here? You are supposed to go to your quarters if anything like this happens, I made that clear on the first day!"

"I-I'm sorry, sir! I simply- I got l-lost..."

"_Lost_? Well, fuck, they keep getting more pathetic by the year."

"I'm s-sorry, I-"

"VOOOI! SORRY AIN'T GONNA CUT IT!" The boy flinched, immediately going silent. "I'll deal with you later. Levi, take this shit to the rain wing!"

"What?! But- but boss-!"

"I'm sure the bastard can survive a few minutes of not having you stare at him while he sleeps like a fucking stalker. Go!" Levi muttered curses under his breath at the swordsman but didn't refuse, getting up and telling Leo to follow him as he left the room.

Not much had been changed since they left a while ago, Lussuria had set candles everywhere, lighting the place up a bit and creating a less spooky atmosphere (for which Tsuki really was grateful). Xanxus was still sleeping in his chair as Mammon sat next to a candle in opposite side of the room, counting money. Fran was leaning against the wall, looking bored, and Squalo had probably been pacing up and down the room like a crazy person.

"So?" The swordsman growled at Bel. The blonde shrugged.

"Nothing on this floor."

"Hm, thought so." He growled to himself as he nodded. "Okay, listen up bastards!" He called out, turning his teammates' attention to him. "I know what happened, this is no enemy attack! There is a blackout because of the blizzard outside."

"Eh...? But shouldn't the generator have kicked in in that case?" Lussuria questioned, causing Squalo's face to turn sour.

"Well yeah, that Sawada shit's mechanic was here a few weeks ago, remember? That bastard, Giannini, told us he'd take a look at the generator before he left to make sure it's working alright. Said he _tweaked _it a bit. Now it won't stop shooting green sparks, our mechanics are working on it, but for now there's nothing we can do."

"Oh my..."

"So what are we supposed to do now, Squalo?" Mammon inquired, her gaze lifted from her money for a while.

"Like hell I know. Do whatever, I don't care. This is for the mechanics to fix."

Lussuria suddenly squealed very loudly, clapping his hands together in pure glee.

"So exciting! Now we can finally focus on some family bonding...!"

"..."

"I'm going to read some manga..."

"Fran-chan..! Wait you can't- Mammon-chan? Where are you going? Squ? Wait, you can't just leave!"

"Ushishi~ come on, no use staying here." Bel snickered, taking Tsuki's hand and leading her away from the living room, ignoring Lussuria's cries of 'but we might never get such a chance again...!'.

* * *

><p>Tsuki sighed as she lied in Bel's bed later that night, the blonde's red blanket and two more (which they'd managed to fish out of his closet some two or three hours ago) thrown over both of them in an attempt to keep themselves warm. Without power, Tsuki had quickly come to realize, the Varia castle cooled off incredibly fast... it was now positively freezing. She was cocooned within three layers of blankets and a sheet as well as her clothes, and yet, Tsuki just could not stop trembling.<p>

Even Mink had gone back to his box ages ago, for it apparently was warmer in there. It was strange, really, because with all those flames around the animal's furry tail and ears, one would expect his surroundings to heat up a bit... apparently though, that was just not a function dying will flames had... which was a pity really, because such a function would've been highly convenient in situations like the Varia's current one... So they had just been left there, the laptop having ran out of battery some hours ago, not knowing what to do.

Tsuki had given up on reading, she couldn't concentrate on it and trying to read those tiny letters with this lack of light would simply ruin her eyes anyway... Bel was currently cleaning his knives, somehow not injuring himself even though the only light source they had was a candle on the table next to him. The brunette wasn't sure if he was aware of the fact that holding his clean knife up to inspect it and then snickering his trademark laugh made him look like a deranged serial killer of a bad horror movie... especially in this lighting.

She'd been thinking that a lot lately, hadn't she?

Tsuki shivered, curling into herself a bit more.

"Ushishi~ is the peasant cold?" The blonde prince then asked, putting away the knife he had just cleaned in favour of turning to look at her. It was a stupid question of course, and they both knew the answer to it. Bel was after all just as cold as she was, judging by the fact he had even worn a jacket and partly gotten under the blankets as well. Tsuki tilted her head up to look back at her husband just in time to catch sight of him leaning in closer to her. "The prince knows a way to keep us both warm."

Tsuki just stared at the prince and his grin for a moment, her face completely blank. He snickered, but it did not register in her mind.

He... _what_?

She was too busy trying to digest the words that he had just told her.

Was Bel-

No no no. He wasn't suggesting what they-

But knowing Bel-

No. No. Just- he hadn't, maybe- maybe she just- there was no way he was suggesting-

Oh god. He was- wasn't he?

Tsuki felt her eyes widening, a bright red blush spreading across her cheeks, and the more she tried to get it to just leave, the redder she became. The brunette took in a sharp breath as she watched Bel watch her back, the grin on his lips suddenly widening even more, as if he just realized something.

"Ushishi~ that's not what the prince meant." The blonde snickered, obviously amused. The next moment though he leaned in even closer to Tsuki, whispering in her ear, "Though I certainly wouldn't mind that either..."

"What!? No! No! No! Get off me, you pervert...!" Belphegor pulled away, snickers turning into laughter. It wasn't mocking or mean, it was just genuinely amused laughter. That was pretty rare indeed, coming from Bel. He turned to Tsuki after a few moments, still chuckling.

"You call me the pervert," He said, that amused grin still on his lips "but you're the one that immediately thought of sex. Ah, they _do_ say it's the quiet ones that have got the dirtiest minds..."

"Noo, Bel, stop it..." Tsuki covered her face, knowing she was probably as red as a tomato. Oh god. The embarrassment. Why...

"Ah... maybe the prince should be getting worried? Didn't you bring along a whole bunch of sex toys to our first date?"

"That was Lussuria!" She squeaked, making the prince snicker again.

"Was it really...?" Bel teased. "How can I know for sure... for all the prince knows, they could be yours, or you might've asked to borrow them from Luss-"

"Bel!" It came out rather muffled, seeing as she had shoved her face in a pillow, trying to block out the man's words. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop-"

"Ushishi~" The brunette felt Bel's arms get wrapped around her, pulling her closer and letting her inhale the unique scent that marked him as she found herself relaxing in the blonde's grip.

* * *

><p>"<em>What? <em>You're joking._"_

"NO! I swear on my boa collection that it's true...! I heard it with my own ears! They- they were like- and Bel-chan suddenly said- 'the prince knows a way to keep us both warm'...! And- and- oh my god~ then he said something about sex toys and-"

"Lussuria-saaan... I don't want to hear about that."

"Voooi! Fran's right! If they're up there doing... _whatever_. Let them. I don't want to know."

"But- but! Aren't you curious?! I mean, what- oh my- do you guys think I should go up there to offer them some of my toys?"

"That's just disturbing."

"Ah... but I do hope they're using protection, should I-"

"Lussuria. Shut up."

"But-"

"Just shut up."


	26. Misunderstandings and a surprise

"Really, Ryouichi..." The dark-haired woman sighed, an exasperated but soft smile playing on her slightly upturned lips as she rolled her eyes at her husband. She looked away from the groceries she had been chopping, putting the knife down as she focused her attention on the man standing in the doorway, already halfway through buttoning up his coat, car keys in hand. "Seiji is sixteen, honey, _you don't need to go pick him up from school_..."

This was, as silly as it sometimes might sound, a rather usual and recurring debate within the Aohana household... it had honestly been that way ever since their eldest child, Aohana Tsukiko (aged 12 at the time), had suddenly decided she didn't want her father waiting for her right outside the school gates in his trademark dark blue Mini Cooper every afternoon without fail. It had led to a string of small arguments after she had tried, time and time again, to explain that nobody else got driven to and from school by their parents _every single day_, but unfortunately for her, her father could be as stubborn as a horse when he wanted to. She had tried various methods to avoid the man and his car- leaving earlier in the morning or simply ignoring it and attempting to walk past the Mini Cooper as she got out of school- but the Aohana patriarch wouldn't have any of it, he didn't trust public transport and for nearly every day of her school career this embarrassing ordeal had continued... everyone knew and recognized their family's Mini Cooper, even if it had gotten old and rusty by now- it was Ryouichi's pride and joy after all.

No matter how many years passed though, the man's over-protective nature was just something that didn't seem to go- even though toned down just a tiny bit, it still continued to exist- bold and unwavering, no matter how annoying others may deem it to be sometimes. Aohana Kokoro just took it to be a representing sign for how much he cared for and loved them. It was something all of them were well used to by now.

"But there's still ice on the road-" The man tried to get his point across, but he was interrupted by the much calmer voice of his wife.

"I know." she said, "but Seiji told me he would be riding a bus with his friends today... the bus stop is hardly far from our house."

Aohana Ryouichi sighed, furrowing his eyebrows as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. His brown eyes lingered on his wife for just a while longer as she nodded, giving him a meaningful look and another one of her smiles that told him that _it was fine _and _Seiji was old enough to take care of himself_...and he knew the argument had been won at that point. Seiji would probably only get angry at him anyway if he went to pick him up... he remembered the boy saying something about his girlfriend that morning during breakfast- and it was no secret that he didn't want his dad acting 'like he was a baby' in front of Sayuki.

"Could you do me a favour and get some bread from the baker's?" Kokoro tilted her head, continuing to stir the pot's contents as she did so, "we're almost out of it... and I can't leave the food unattended."

"Uh, sure..."

To put it simply, the Aohanas were a perfectly normal family, almost boringly so, one would dare say... The parents had been classmates that happened to meet each other again in the travel agency where Kokoro had been working as a secretary. Ryouichi was delivering something for his boss, and the two instantly seemed to get along well. It wasn't very long until they were married and had two kids, all of them living together in a small peaceful town in a cozy little house with a dog and a white picket fence... okay, so they had no dog... or a white picket fence, but still- it seemed pretty fairy tale-like.

Life had treated them well was the truth, and though they were far from rich, their son and daughter had never gone hungry or been denied something they needed- or wanted.

Their kids always gotten average grades, nothing very impressive or disappointing, and four years ago Tsuki had left abroad to study in Europe... Italy, more specifically. She stayed there even after her studies were done, moving in with her boyfriend and visiting and calling as often as that was possible. Seiji had a girlfriend as well, since exactly two weeks ago (as he had eagerly been telling his mother at the breakfast table that very same morning), and it sounded like they were happy... There was nothing about them at all that would ever suggest they were involved in anything shady or strange at all... and they weren't, really... until Tsuki managed to get herself married to a mafia assassin in a moment of drunkenness.

Though they were still unaware of that fact at the present time.

"Bread... bread..." Ryouichi scanned the shelves, scratching the back of his head and taking in the different kinds of bread lined out in front of him, a small frown visible on his features... Kokoro never did mention what kind of bread she wanted him to get "yeah, just give me that one over there..." He said towards the woman behind the counter as he pointed at a loaf of bread that looked acceptable.

"That's a great choice...!" She confirmed with a nod and reached for it. "So, how are the kids, Ryouichi-san? When will Tsukiko be visiting us again, it's been a while, hasn't it?" She sighed "Oh I still remember when her and Seiji would come over here when they were still little...! Tsukiko could barely even reach up to the counter in order to look over it...!"

The man smiled a little, his gaze softening as he nodded.

"Yes... yes, they've grown a lot."

"That's just how it goes..." The woman shook her head. "Is everything alright for Tsukiko there in Italy? There seem to have been a lot of blizzards lately, no?"

"Oh yes... I heard so as well. Many people were completely snowed in, apparently. Tsukiko lives in Venice though, it shouldn't be as bad there... if the meteorological predictions can be trusted at least. They said it was going to be sunny today too- I don't see any sun at all!"

"Yes, yes... it's quite horrible. Can't walk down the road without slipping at least twice, you know." She gave the man the bag which contained his bread, accepting her money and being about to open the cash register when he motioned for her to keep the change.

"Well then, I'll be on my way. It was nice talking to you, Sato-san."

A cry of "Have a good day!" followed him as he pushed open the glass door, and with a nod in the baker's direction as well as a "yes, you too", Ryouichi was out on the street... and almost ran over by a young man doing roadwork.

The bread fell on the nearly frozen over pavement, and the older man stumbled a little as the white-haired individual seemed to continue his running, only that he wasn't moving. He was doing morning training? Really? In this weather, with all the ice and melting snow...?

"I'm EXTREMELY sorry!"

"Uh... no, it's fine..." He bent down to pick up his fallen bag with bread, raising an eyebrow as he kept his eyes on the... rather loud person in before him. His skin was a bit darker than what was the norm in Japan, and he had a band-aid on his nose, as well as a scar over his left eyebrow. …. Wasn't that the Sasagawas' son...?

Last Ryouichi heard of him both him and his sister moved to Italy... as well as the son of Sawada Nana, and the Yamamoto boy- from Takesushi... and- for one town, that was an awful lot of people moving to Italy... hadn't most of them been classmates too?

"Oh! You are the EXTREME dad of Aohana-san, aren't you!"

"Er..."

"Yes, you EXTREMELY look like her! How is she doing?"

"She's doing fine, I think... you know my daughter?"

The young man nodded enthusiastically, starting to babble about some party and babies that drank espresso. He mentioned something about a pineapple- Namimori middle's disciplinary committee and a young man with a very unusual name (Bell-fe-gore?).. and from the little of what Ryouchi was able to understand, the man concluded that yes, the Sasagawa boy had indeed met Tsukiko at some Christmas party a couple of months ago. When he attempted to ask about Diego, just for the sake of courtesy, the boxer claimed not to know anyone named like that- only a Dino- but he was on a meeting in Portugal at the moment... which somehow led to a conversation about boxing.

And so after almost a quarter of a pretty one-sided conversation Ryouichi didn't understand much of, the only thing the man knew for sure was that talking to this guy was confusing...

"Well, I've got to get going now," He finally sighed- seizing the opportunity when Ryohei finished retelling that one match he had had with the Sawada boy while in middle school- something about underwear, and being reborn... "It was nice talking to you."

"Oh... Alright, yes you too, Aohana-san!" The man wove as he continued to run without really moving, and Ryouichi nodded politely before turning around to leave. "Oh, and congratulations!"

"Congratulations...?" The older man paused, giving the younger a confused smile "for what?"

"For becoming an EXTREME grandpa, of course!"

* * *

><p>To say Tsuki's day (or week, or <em>month<em>- for that matter) hadn't been going well... would be an understatement of mass proportions. And it was **all **Lussuria's fault, that much the brunette could now say without regret or hesitation.

She should've realized, really, that something was terribly wrong the very moment she had entered the kitchen that day right after the blackout- the generator had been fixed during the course of the night, and morning had found Lussuria standing in front of the stove as she entered the room.

It hadn't been an unusual sight- and Tsuki honestly hadn't paid it much attention either as she made her way over to the Varia's sun guardian and offered some help, only to be turned down by the man. He told her to sit aside and let him take care of everything- and his tone had been just a tad bit too gleeful, as Tsuki hadn't been able but notice. Lussuria was nice by nature- but this was something else entirely.

The man had finished preparing her pancakes (followed by a serving for himself) in a couple of short minutes and then eagerly joined Tsuki at the long island... and it had all spiraled downwards -straight to hell- from that moment onwards.

The conversation that had followed was an extremely uncomfortable one (on her part, at least) that had consisted of Lussuria throwing her sly, _knowing _looks and wiggling closer to the brunette as he tried to extract 'juicy details' from the latter about the 'steamy night' Bel and her had apparently shared.

Denial just hadn't seemed to be an option to the man- he would not listen to her no matter how many times she insisted that _nothing- not one single thing- _had occurred between the blonde prince and herself the night before. And that really was the truth- they had simply fallen asleep after just lying there in silence for a while.

But Lussuria would have none of it- he would have nothing but the juicy details he had come for. Which was when he decided to switch tactics. He figured that instead of waiting for Tsuki to tell him by herself, he should just suggest things and conclude from her reactions what had taken place.

It wasn't her fault- was it? Who wouldn't just want to die then and there if they had _Lussuria_ practically leaning over them- spurting out the one kinky fetish after the other... _of course _she had blushed. It wasn't like she could help it!

The man had seemed satisfied enough after a while and Tsuki was grateful for the change of subject. But if she had thought this would be the end of it all- oh boy was she wrong. One thing was for sure- _Lussuria could gossip._ He could gossip like a pro- and the rest of the Varia's underlings and staff didn't fall behind either. They were worse than a group of gossiping old ladies having their weekly Wednesday afternoon tea party, and that was saying something. Bottom line of the whole story was that by the end of that week the whole castle had apparently heard of the Bel and her's apparently wild sex life.

There had been stares following her everywhere she went, and people whispering around every corner ever since that day- and judging by the sudden increase in 'mysterious disappearances' and the rise in death toll within castle grounds lately- she wasn't the only one that was getting sick of this whole thing.

Belphegor had been notably more moody than usual, and the underlings avoided him like their lives depended on it (which, frankly, it did) as he sauntered down the Varia's vast hallways- emitting a scary killing intent. Lussuria, too, seemed to have made a point of avoiding the blonde ripper prince- and for a good reason too since the man had probably just managed to get himself on the top of Bel's 'peasants to kill' list.

This situation had just continued for the biggest part of March- and just when things were starting to calm down a little... _this _just had to happen...

"_Dad! Calm down, you don't get it! Dad- dad! Listen to me- no- I'm not- well, that's true but- what? Whoa- whoa- wait. What?!"_

Tsuki could barely manage to sort out her own thoughts as she listened to the angry Japanese rant directed at her- her mind seeming to rapidly go completely and utterly blank as the first few words mentioned repeated themselves over and over again inside her head, not unlike a broken record player. The sound of the TV still playing the movie Tsuki had been watching a couple of moments ago being but a buzz drowned out in the background.

"_Dad! Dad, calm down! Where did you hear that from?"_

The brunette could make out her mum in the background as well- confused and panicked- and demanding an explanation as well. Tsuki imagined her circling her dad, that worried look of hers painted all across her features.

"_The Sasagawas' son, I didn't know you knew him that well."_

The Sasagawa's son? Sasagawa? Sasagawa Ryohei? _Kyoko's brother_?

"_I- I don't... this is just- dad, I'm so sorry- this is a misunder-"_

"_No, don't. You don't need to lie to us... you're old enough to make your own decisions and choices, we know that. We wouldn't- we- it's just- a baby is-"_

"_Dad! Please, listen to me. I don't know what Sasagawa-san told you exactly- but... I'm not- I'm not pregnant."_

There was a lengthy silence on both ends- only Kokoro's confused words and the sounds coming from the TV ("It's okay..." the white-haired boy said, looking up at the brown-haired child standing before him "We're going to have some _fun _instead") being heard in the background- the lack of anything else making it just as uncomfortable and vexing as any silence could get. Tsuki tried to open her mouth and say something- anything to lighten the mood- but she just couldn't seem to form the words.

What the heck was she supposed to say anyway? Her father had just called her- believing she was _pregnant_! **Pregnant**, for crying out loud!... How had he even come to that conclusion...? Who even- no- _why_ did Sasagawa Ryohei even go around telling people she was pregnant?! She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

And honestly, her father's calm- defeated voice was worse than having him shout at her... his sadness and disappointment had shown through earlier and she just wanted to be _there_ right now. To show them it was fine- she was still plain old Tsuki.

"..._You're not?" _The familiar voice finally broke through the silence- sounding so much older than it should. Tsuki confirmed the statement with a plain "I'm not.", a sigh escaping her lips. She couldn't think of anything else to say. "_And... then- then what Ryohei told me about... about you being... married-"_

The brunette knew that right now, this exact moment, would've been her perfect opportunity- the perfect opportunity to deny everything and ensure her parents' peace of mind. It would've been easy- a fake laugh and an "of course not- everything's fine- oh, and Diego says hi" and everything could go back to as it was, this whole thing being shaken off as a misunderstanding. And she knew that them knowing the truth would only put them in danger- she had been warned about that fact before, she knew it herself too- she had experienced the consequences of being married to a person such as Bel first hand. She had killed a man because of it... Truthfully, knowing would make them easy targets- three more civilians involved in something they could not control and might get them killed... but... they couldn't honestly live on the rest of their lives _not knowing _either, could they? And did it honestly change much anyway? Whether they knew just some _fragments _of the truth, or nothing at all? It wasn't like she would be spilling any top-secrets anyway.

"_No- that is... that's true." _Tsuki heard her dad take in a deep breath and quickly continued, before her courage decided to flee and left her with nothing at all. "_It's kind of complicated... but I had been meaning to tell you, really- I had. It's just- many things happened and-"_

"_Do you love him?" _Tsuki started at being interrupted, fumbling with her words for just a short moment before-

"_Wha- of course I do." _It almost surprised the brunette how easily- how quickly- the answer came- _almost, but not entirely_- because it was the truth. No matter who or what Bel was, she loved him. He might be a crazy psychopath, a murderer whose sanity was indeed questionable for the biggest part- a sadistic lunatic who took pleasure in others' pain... he could be possessive and a downright (royal- as he would insist) pain in the ass. He was more than just a little arrogant, and his ego could surely do with some toning down one of these days... but he could also be surprisingly pleasant when he wanted to. The blonde prince she was married to could be playful, and he could be childish- but he could also be serious when the situation asked for it- and if she ever needed it, she knew he would be there for her- even if his way of solving things wasn't always just as orthodox as she would've liked it to be.

He had been there for her when she most needed it- he had been the one to help her come to terms with the whole Romano Riccardi incident, and he had made sure she got some psychical training- so that the next time this thing could be avoided. And yes, he might not be the stereotypical image of a prince charming but Tsuki didn't want that anyway- she loved him, she loved the whole of him. The good, and the bad.

It was a while longer before either spoke, each of them- both father and daughter- lost in their own individual thoughts... and they both concerned the same person. A certain handsome blonde prince.

"_I see," _The elder of the two finally spoke, apparently having made his decision about how he was going to take this news- and surprisingly... he sounded pretty calm._ "I want to meet him."_

"_You- what?"_

"_You heard me... I want to meet him, my son-in-law."_

* * *

><p>Tsuki was waiting for Belphegor right outside the training room that afternoon, fidgeting nervously as she watched the members of his storm squad file out of the chamber one by one, some of them looking like they had found themselves at the bad end of Mink's storm flames but seeming overall happy that their working day was finally over at long last.<p>

Some of them nodded at Tsuki as they passed by, already used to her presence in the castle by now, informing her that her husband should be out soon as well. The brunette softly thanked them and sure enough, it wasn't long before the blonde in question emerged, Mink nestled around his shoulders- both looking tired, but quite content.

The snow had finally started to melt, and with it gone, the Varia could get back to its normal day-to-day routine... they couldn't go on missions yet- but training had started again without further ado. Apparently- when the weather conditions were approved of as safe enough by the Vongola (Tsuki was pretty sure Squalo would have no problem with sending his own men out there even in the middle of the apocalypse, but orders were orders) the Varia would have to catch up to all its missions and fill in the gap as quickly as possible.

It didn't happen often, Belphegor had said at some point when they happened to talk about it- but when it did, it was always exhausting for everyone. They couldn't afford having the Varia's reputation drop because of bad weather conditions after all.

The prince spotted her and walked over to Tsuki, leaning over her to quickly kiss his wife on the lips before he pulled away again. He grinned for a moment before noticing her obvious discomfort.

"Hmm?" He tilted his head, a snicker escaping his lips "Ushishi, is something bothering the prince's wife?"

The brunette tried to smile a little, still hesitant about how she was supposed to break this to the man in front of her. It wasn't like she was scared of him, but the fact she wasn't exactly sure how he might react to this... well- it was a bit worrying...

She decided to simply take the roundabout way.

"Well- um- you know how- how I originally came to Italy to study.. and then met Diego and-? Of course you do, well yes, um- that's not where I was going with this- what I wanted to say was that, well you know we've been married for nearly half a year now- and well- frankly- no, no- actually- when Lussuria- well the Vongola actually-"

"Tsuki," Bel interrupted his wife's nonsensical rants, hidden eyes focused on the brunette as he calmly petted Mink, "cut to the chase."

"Right." Tsuki cleared her throat "Maybe we could- maybe we should take this somewhere else...?"

Her husband was growing impatient by the lack of answers, and that was recognizable enough in his actions when grabbed Tsuki by the wrist, an annoyed sigh being uttered as he led her to a more deserted place of the Varia castle. He led her down some halls and up some stairs before abruptly turning around a corner and pushing her inside a room, closing the door behind them.

The first thought that entered her mind was that it was sufficiently warm in there, and as soon as the lights were switched on, Tsuki was also able to tell where they were. It was the room in which the Varia (or more accurately their maids and other personnel) did their laundry... it was a simple room filled with cleaning products and washing machines. She was unsure if Belphegor had ever put a foot in the particular chamber before, and even if he had it probably wasn't intentional, but it sure was an good place to talk without being overheard. Her husband had locked the door upon entering and their voices could easily be drowned out by the sound made by the washing machines and dryers.

"Now... what's bothering you?"

"Actually... um, it's more like... there's this favour I'd like to ask of you."

"A favour?" The blonde repeated, and Tsuki could tell he was growing suspicious, she could practically _feel _it in his stare... which was kind of weird- and creepy- since she couldn't even see his eyes at all.

"Nothing's wrong! Well- not exactly, but- It's nothing to really worry about- I promise!" The self-proclaimed prince said nothing, so Tsuki deemed it safe to carry on. "Well... the thing is- word kind of got around and... I would like to visit my parents. In Japan... With you, that is. I think it was Lussuria- he started this rumor... you know, about us, and it must've reached the Vongola- Kyoko's brother- well... my father met him... and now he wants to meet you as well."

Tsuki wasn't sure what she had expected him to do when she told him this... but just standing there and watching her- well, that wasn't it. The royal was being... uncomfortably silent... almost scarily so.

"Bel...?" She moved over to shake his arm a bit, fingernails digging into his Varia coat, but it didn't really have any effect. "Bel? Say something...! _Bel_...!"

"Tell him we can't. Or better yet, _won't_."

"What...?!"

"You heard the prince." The cool tone his voice had taken with her surprised the brunette for a moment, and all she could do was stare at the prince, mouth agape- rather like a fish out of water.

She had known he was capable of being a jerk... but this- the brunette bit her lip

"You know this shit. You can't go see them unless you want them to end up in life-threatening danger."

"I..." She had been warned about that- it had been one of the only times she ever personally spoke to the Varia's boss. Tsuki flinched, trying hard to blink the tears that gathered in the corners of her eyes away. "I- I know that but... they just want to meet _you_- if we just- if we don't tell them-"

"So you want to lie to them, that's what it is?"

"Of course I don't! But if we don't tell them about- about the mafia and-"

"Do you honestly think that would make them any safer?" The blonde sighed- because they both knew that- no- keeping them in the dark about his line of work would not solve anything... they would not be in any less danger than they already were- or would be- if Bel's enemies found out about their connection to his wife. He spared her from having to answer his question- it had been rhetorical anyway. "Besides- there will be too many missions to take care of to go anywhere anytime soon... the shark would have the prince's head for skipping out on it, ushishi~"

"We could wait... you know, until it's calmer..."

Obviously the conversation wasn't over yet, but apparently the prince had had enough of it. The blonde sighed, moving to unlock the door.

"Look... Tsuki, those were the Boss's orders- you're not to leave Italy- or even the castle unless you're accompanied by someone- if you can convince him to change his mind, the prince will go."

* * *

><p>Let it be known that convincing Xanxus to change his mind over <em>anything<em>, let alone something like _this_, might as well be synonymous to the very definition of impossible... which was also probably the reason for which Bel had chosen those exact conditions instead of anything else in order to pay a visit to Japan... He knew she would fail- and she had known so as well- long before she even scourged up her courage to go and knock on the scarred man's office door.

And fail she did.

The visit- however short- had been been a stressful experience that had required some (a lot of it, actually) mental preparation on Tsuki's behalf... the brunette had seen how the man could react- the things he could, and wouldn't hesitate, to do- and she knew that she was treading on dangerous territory. He wouldn't be any more forgiving or tolerant because she was a female- or because she had practically no way of fighting back.

Tsuki had just stood aside for a couple of moments at first, simply watching the rather one-sided argument that was going on between Xanxus and his second-in-command in silence. Squalo excused himself, noisily stomping out of the room, and at that point those negative feelings had just gotten much more difficult to hide. It might not have been her first time in the Varia boss's office (it was possibly the second or third) but it certainly was her first time there all alone.

And that knowledge was indeed terrifying.

Well, she managed to escape unscathed at the very least- but it was really not surprise to anyone that her request had been bluntly denied.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long after that fiasco that missions started again, more furiously now than ever before. Snow had apparently melted enough for Sawada to approve of it as safe enough for everyone to go on with their missions, but in the meantime they had already lost three weeks' worth of them. And they still had their normal missions-assignments planned for the next few days and weeks- to take care of.<p>

The castle was once again flooded with cream and black colors as everyone got back into their uniforms. Normal routines and patrols were effortlessly picked back up again and it wasn't long until everything started going back to the way it had been.

Bel, just like everyone else, was gone for a big majority of the time, away on missions to somewhere in Russia, Albania, Peru, Sweden or wherever it was required of him to be. Often, he was gone for days on end- coming back entirely exhausted and looking like he hadn't slept for a decade.

He would just go straight to his- or their, as it had at some point unofficially become- bedroom and proceed to sleep until late in the afternoon before spending some time with Tsuki and immediately leaving to catch his flight to Morocco or something. He along with Fran and Lussuria were apparently put in charge of missions outside of Italy, but that didn't mean Squalo, Levi and Mammon (who took turns going to assignments in various locations within the borders) worked any less hard. They got a lot of smaller missions- taking up two or even three of them in one day and traveling from Florence to Sicily to Milan without a break.

It was crazy, and just like that, before any of them even realized it, April was out and May was in.

It got a bit warmer- but there was no real improvement where the weather was concerned... sure, while it didn't snow any longer (it would've been worrying if it still did) there were still permanently dark clouds present in the sky. Sometimes it rained but mostly there was just that gloomy sky to look at- no real change about it.

Missions did slowly decrease in frequency though, and by the time May was in for good, the Varia's pace had entirely gone back to normal- Bel was just back from his two-week mission to Spain in fact and as far as Tsuki was aware, nothing else was planned for him in the following few days. It was a change she was prepared to welcome.

The kiss broke but Tsuki's arms remained loosely wrapped around her husband's neck as she sat on his lap, a small but content smile on her lips. The prince grinned and it wasn't long before they leaned back in for more.

The couple was alone in the kitchen right now- Lussuria was out, shopping somewhere in France (a treat from himself to himself for all his hard work during those past few weeks) while Fran was training with Mukuro and Tsuki wasn't even sure where the rest of them were. Not that she really cared at the moment. The dinner she had made was long forgotten and probably growing cold, but neither of them paid it any attention, only parting again when the need to breathe prevailed.

"Ushishi~"

They had kept in touch while he was away, mostly calling- with or without video- but it just wasn't the same as physically being together. The prince stretched his arms behind his back, a lazy grin crawling onto his lips... he was in a good mood today.

"_Soo_, how has the prince's wife been?"

"Hmm, well- rather busy really..." The brunette moved her hand, experimentally entangling her fingers with Bel's- he didn't seem to mind. If he did mind, he certainly didn't shake off her touch. "Not as busy as you, of course... but, stuff happened- you know. Xanxus-san blew a hole through another wall..."

The prince found this amusing apparently, his grin growing wider- definitely amused.

"And? Did the commander throw a hissy fit?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it- fine- yes, yes he did." She smiled goofy as the blonde let out a snort, followed by one of his famous snickers.

"Ushishi..!"

Oh yes, he found this amusing. Very amusing.

"I helped clean up afterwards... a lost cause, really. We were just done when Xanxus-san got annoyed at someone else..."

"Typical boss." Bel nodded along, and for a few moments a comfortable silence passed between them. Their own breathing was pretty much anything either of them could hear- and if they strained their ears sounds from outside became evident as well... it was a good day. "You know..."

"Hmm?"

"While the prince was in Spain, he came across an offer he couldn't decline," The brunette looked back over her shoulder, her brown eyes curious as she tilted her head. Belphegor only took out an envelope from his pocket- looking quite smug with himself- and handed it to her, going on with speaking as she fumbled with the envelope- trying to open it. "We've been together for four months- married for half a year, and it occurred to the prince-"

Tsuki blinked, turning over the slips of paperin her hands, reading over what was written on them once more- just for confirmation... they were... _plane tickets?_

"-that we haven't been on a honeymoon yet."

"Ah?"

"Well, the prince remembered you wanted to go to Japan-" He shrugged, it had been about a month ago... but better late than never, right? "So he talked to boss about it, and the skylark is apparently in Namimori right now- as long as we keep a low profile they'll be more than safe- even with the prince's presence there."

A grin appeared on those lips and Tsuki couldn't help but smile back, wrapping her arms around his neck once more and hugging the blonde tightly. Tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes- but she didn't care.

"_Thank you!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Hi there people! MrsRegulusBlack123 here :D<strong>

**Ermm... someone suggested I should do this- soooo here I am XD *wooh***

**Hmm, where to start... well, there's really nothing interesting to say about me actually... I live in Belgium (it's like almost NEVER sunny here *sigh*) aaaand I've got no social life to speak of- unless if talking to people who live on the other side of the globe on skype counts...? Hahaha XD Anyway, I have a tumblr and I roleplay Belphegor there- I'm pretty sure I am addicted to my laptop and I like reading yaoi a bit more than I'd like to admit ^^**

**Other than that... I'm just a disaster waiting to happen XDD no, seriously, give me ANYTHING- and I'm guaranteed to lose it. I'm also a very messy person- my room is practically a junkyard... and I'm always looking for something (usually my glasses)- it drives my mum absolutely crazy! The other day I put my keys on top of this bookcase so I could see them and not forget about them (I sleep in the top bunk of my cousins' bunk bed XDD)... and OF COURSE I went to school that day and ****completely**** forgot about them. I only remembered when I got back and no one was home to open the door... I ended up climbing in through the window XD I seriously wonder what the neighbours think of me sometimes...**

**Anyways- I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm terribly sorry for the horrible delays lately D: Oh, and if anyone would like to RP with my Belphegor feel free to PM me and I'll send you the link- I rp with anyone, OC or Canon character- hell, they don't even need to be from the same fandom XDD**

**Bye bye for now~**

**Please remember review!**


End file.
